Pro Kabaddi 2019: Pardeep Narwal's super show helps Patna Pirates halt losing streak; UP Yoddha get better of Gujarat Fortunegiants

Kolkata: Three-time champions Patna Pirates rode on their talismanic raider Pardeep Narwal’s superlative show to halt their six-match losing streak with a thumping 51-25 win over Tamil Thalaivas in the Pro-Kabaddi League on Monday. In a match between two bottom-placed teams, Patna surged ahead with Narwal who became the first player to breach the 1000-mark raid points milestone. [caption id=“attachment_7313581” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Patna Pirates’ raider Pardeep Narwal against Tamil Thalaivas. Image credit: PKL[/caption] It was fourth win for Pirates from 12 matches this season. The win, however, was not enough to lift the Pirates from the bottom place as they now have 25 points, two less than Thalaivas on 11th place. Thalaivas succumbed to a heavy loss against Dabang Delhi KC at the same venue last night and things did not improve as the record-breaking Narwal gave his side a 17-8 lead in the 14th minute. There was no looking back as Patna closed the first half with a five-point lead before they sealed the issue. Jaideep provided support in defence with seven tackle points. Meanwhile, UP Yoddha produced an all-round performance to defeat last season’s runners-up Gujarat Fortunegiants 33-26 for their fourth successive win. UP’s defensive pair of Nitesh Kumar (4 tackle points) and Sumit (High Five with five tackle points) were in red-hot form once again, aptly supported by the raiding duo of Shrikanth Jadhav and Surender Gill (both with 6 raid points). Witht his result, UP have jumped to fifth spot in the table with 42 points from 14 matches. Sachin’s return to the squad has been a vital factor in Gujarat’s improved form in the recent matches and the raider was once again influential as he secured to a two-point raid in the sixth minute to give Gujarat a slender lead. But Jadhav immediately restored parity with a two-point raid for the Yoddha as both sides continued to trade blows. With Monu Goyat still recovering from an injury, UP’s raiding duties had fallen on the shoulders of Jadhav and Gill, something they had so far managed to do with ease. The latter was the difference-maker for Yoddha in the second half as he pulled off a series of successful raids to enforce an all-out on Gujarat in the final minute of the first half to open up a 7-point lead (16-9). But the Gujarat side were in no mood to give up, and Sachin sparked a comeback with a four-point Super Raid (in the seventh minute) as Gujarat reduced the margins and forced an all-out with eight minutes left in the match. UP’s defence was in no mood for another slip up though, and the duo of Nitesh and Sumit steadied their ship to clinch their fourth consecutive win.