Pro Kabaddi: Patna Pirates mark home territory with a win
On the opening match in Patna, the Pirates needed a victory. Trailing behind Dabang Delhi in the League standings in fifth place, the Patna Pirates clearly possessed the skill to be a top tier team, but with a 2-2 win loss ratio, Rakesh Kumar’s team had dubious self-confidence.
The Puneri Paltan were not going to give it up easily. Even without their usual captain, the Pune team exhibited a tremendous defiance that led to a nail-biting first half, and only barely gave the win as the Patna Pirates surged ahead in the final 5 minutes for a final score of Patna 35, Paltans 27.
The game began with the two teams’ extraordinary raiders, Patna’s Ravi Dalal and Pune’s Praveen Niwale, both resulting in a single point for both teams. In the following two raids, the Captains came out to play. Rakesh Kumar, crossing the centerline with the backdrop of a roaring Patna crowd, came home empty-handed, unable to find an opportunity in the Paltan’s defense. Jitesh Joshi faced similar difficulty in the fierce Pirate anti-raiders, and with another empty raid, the crowd felt a little bit of anti-climax.
This was quickly overcome, to the delight of Patna fans, as the Pirates raced ahead to a 9 - 5 lead, spearheaded by Rakesh Kumar. Clearly suffering from the lack of their star captain Wazir Singh, the Puneri Paltans looked on as Jitesh stepped out to face the fully stocked, 7-person Patna Defense. But by shooting through the arms of one of Patna’s new defenders, Jitesh not only earned his team a much needed point, but earned their confidence and put them on the path to a comeback.
Rocketing forward in the next 10 minutes, a supercharged Puneri Team closed the gap up until an amazing tie at 13-13, developing to a 2 point Puneri lead of 16 - 14. With the game falling apart before their eyes, an inspired Sandeep launched into a spectacular 2 point raid that culminated in a soaring leap over the Paltan defence, once again leveling the score and preparing the Patna offense for a victorious rest of the game.
Hosting a newly competitive side of Rakesh Kumar, the Patna Pirates dominated the game, taking back the comeback from the Puneri Paltan and putting on a tremendous game for their hometown supporters. Halftime saw the Pirates with a 6 point lead of 22 to 16, a differential that grew with an almost immediate all out. Trading raid for raid and defensive play for defensive play, that differential hardly adjusted until the end of the game, giving the Patna Pirates the triumph on their home turf.