Pro Kabaddi 2019: Patna Pirates' defence stands strong as three-time champions clinch thrilling win over Tamil Thalaivas

Mumbai: Patna Pirates beat Tamil Thalaivas 24-23 in a thrilling match of the Pro Kabaddi League season seven in Mumbai on Monday. The match was billed as an encounter between “The Showman” Rahul Chaudhari against the “Record Breaker” Pardeep Narwal, who are the two most successful raiders in Pro Kabaddi League history. However, it was the Patna Pirates’ defence that tilted the match in their favour with super tackles throughout the encounter. [caption id=“attachment_7076951” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Patna Pirates celebrate during their fixture against Tamil Thalaivas. Image credit: Twitter/@PatnaPirates[/caption] Jaideep scored seven tackle points and was ably supported by young Monu, who chipped in with a strong all-round performance. Chaudhari completed 900 raids, making history in Pro Kabaddi League Season 7, while top-scoring with five points for the Tamil Thalaivas. Manjeet Chhillar, who also scored 300 tackle points in Pro Kabaddi League, began the half strongly for Tamil Thalaivas as he tackled Narwal and dangerman Jang Kun Lee. Jaideep, on the other hand, was a rock at the back for Patna Pirates and showed tremendous strength and toughness. Chaudhari, who always delivered his best against Patna, got his first raid point in the fourth minute to give the Thalaivas a 4-0 lead. The first half was all about super tackles for Patna Pirates. Jaideep forced one in the fourth minute to get Patna off the mark. It was one of those rare occasions when Narwal failed to open his account in the first half. With Narwal misfiring, it was left to Patna’s defence to get the points on board. Ajay ‘Iceman’ Thakur is the second-highest raid point scorer against Patna with 110 points. Hadi Oshtorak forced a super tackle in the 17th minute to send Chaudhari to the bench and averted an all- out for Patna Pirates. At the end of the first half, both teams were level at 11 points each. Chaudhari, who is the all-time leading raid point scorer against Patna Pirates with 145 raid points in 15 matches, which is also the most by any player against a single team, scored just one point in the first half. For Thalaivas, Chhillar picked up four tackle points in the first half alone. Thakur, who reached 600 raid points creating history in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 7, had a quiet match. Patna Pirates began the second half on the same note as they forced another super tackle to lead 14-13 after 27 minutes. Chaudhari picked up a two-point raid to level the match at 16-16. The three-time champions then forced another tackle to take 18-16 lead in the 32nd minute. In the 38th minute, Narwal got his first point and sent Chhillar to the bench. In the last minute Chaudhari made an unforced error and handed Patna Pirates a victory in the end.