PKL 9: Superstar Pardeep Narwal proved difference for UP Yoddhas against Patna Pirates

U Mumba and Puneri Paltan also secured imported wins in the run-in for the playoffs.

U Mumba vs Bengal Warriors

The U Mumba side put up a fantastic performance to defeat Bengal Warriors 49-41 in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 9 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday. Raider Guman Singh emerged as the best player for U Mumba with 14 points, while his fellow raider Ashish chipped in with 13 points in the match.

https://youtu.be/mavoHm3_ng0

Guman Singh picked up a couple of raid points as U Mumba took the lead at 4-2 in the 5th minute. Guman continued to showcase top form and reduced the Warriors to just one member on the mat in the 7th minute. Moments later, Guman pulled off another magnificent raid to help his team inflict an ALL OUT and take a massive lead at 12-4. However, Vaibhav Garje and Girish Maruti Ernak scored tackle points and kept the Warriors in the game at 9-13. The Bengal side kept fighting and inflicted an ALL OUT just before half-time, but they were still behind the Mumbai team at 21-23 at the end of the first half.

The two sides played out a neck and neck contest in the opening minutes of the second half. Guman led the charge for U Mumba, while the Warriors banked on Maninder Singh. But U Mumba managed to stay ahead at 27-24 in the 25th minute. Guman Singh pulled off a magnificent raid in the 28th minute as the Mumbai side continued to lead at 31-27. U Mumba rode on the momentum and carried out an ALL OUT to attain a stronghold of the match at 37-30 in the 33rd minute. Thereafter, raider Ashish and defender Rinku stepped up their game as the Mumbai side earned at a massive lead at 47-37 in the 39th minute. U Mumba continued to step on the pedal and eventually closed out a comprehensive victory.

Puneri Paltan vs Telugu Titans

Aslam Inamdar, Pankaj Mohite, and Akash Shinde's combined raiding burst gave the Puneri Paltan a fifth win on the trot with a 38-25 victory over the Telugu Titans in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 9 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday.  

The game kicked off slowly with both teams keen to avoid mistakes and instead just play to their strengths. Buoyed by a partisan home crowd, the Titans constantly kept the Paltan raiders in check, and despite going down in numbers due to Aslam Inamdar's raiding prowess, they pulled multiple SUPER TACKLES to avoid the all out.

https://youtu.be/9KAU8mPGSS0

The teams went into the break separated by four points, with the Paltan leading 14-10.Puneri Paltan picked up the tempo early in the second half and within minutes had inflicted the first ALL OUT of the evening on the Titans, to surge into a 18-10 lead. The Titans had barely recovered from that all out and even before they could rally together, another followed. A SUPER RAID by Pankaj Mohite on Parvesh Bhainswal, Vishal Bhardwaj and T Adarsh condemned the Titans to a second ALL OUT within seven minutes to leave them down 27-11.Reeling from the double all out the Titans struggled to get much going in the raiding department and were still reliant on their defenders, who kept pulling off SUPER TACKLES to keep them in the game. Another late SUPE RAID by Akash Shinde on Muhammed Shihas, Mohsen Maghsoudlou and Prince D, threatened to wipe the Titans out, but home side managed to stay afloat. However, the Pune side continued being clinical and eventually registered five wins in a row.

UP Yoddhas vs Patna Pirates

The U.P. Yoddhas and Patna Pirates played out a see-saw battle throughout their Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 9 game, however, the Yoddhas picked up crucial tackle points in the last minute of the match to win the match 35-33 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday. Pardeep Narwal continued his stupendous form as he racked up 15 points on the night.

https://youtu.be/fUjcQuMmuVA

The UP Yoddhas inflicted an ALL OUT in the 8th minute to take a massive lead at 9-2. While Pardeep Narwal and Rohit Tomar led the charge for the raiding unit, Gurdeep and Sumit picked up tackle points for the Yoddhas. However, Rohit Gulia carried out a couple of raids and kept the Pirates in the game at 6-11 in the 15th minute. Sachin also stepped up his game as the Pirates reduced the Yoddhas to two members on the mat in the 16th minute.

Moments later, the Patna side inflicted an ALL OUT to take the lead at 12-11. Thereafter, Pardeep Narwal picked up a couple of touch points and helped his team regain the lead at 15-14, however Sachin tackled Gurdeep and equalized the scores at 15-15 at the stroke of half-time.

Narwal continued to showcase top form in the second half and helped his side inch ahead at 18-15 in the 24th minute. The record-breaker pulled off a magnificent multi-point raid in the 27th minute as the Yoddhas inflicted an ALL OUT to attain a stronghold of the match at 23-17. The Yoddhas defenders also backed up their star raider and helped their side to keep moving forward. But Rohit Gulia kept the Pirates in the game at 23-26 after effecting a couple of brilliant raids. The Pirates rode on the momentum and inflicted an ALL OUT in the 33rd minute and trailed by just one point at 26-27. Thereafter, both sides kept trading points and they were locked at 32-32 in the 39th minute.

Sachin picked up a raid point, but Pardeep contributed with a bonus point right after as the neck and neck battled continued. However, the Yoddhas managed to carry out crucial tackles against Sachin and Gulia in the last minute of the match, which helped them to clinch a thrilling win in the end.

Award Winners of the Night:

Match 1: U Mumba vs Bengal Warriors

vivo Perfect Player of the Match - Guman Singh (U Mumba)

Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match - Ashish (U Mumba)

Moment of the Match - Rinku (U Mumba)

Match 2: Puneri Paltan vs Telugu Titans

vivo Perfect Player of the Match - Aslam Inamdar (Puneri Paltan)

Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match - Sanket Sawant (Puneri Paltan)

Moment of the Match - Aslam Inamdar (Puneri Paltan)

Match 3: U.P. Yoddhas vs Patna Pirates

vivo Perfect Player of the Match - Pardeep Narwal (U.P. Yoddhas)

Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match - Sandeep Narwal (U.P. Yoddhas)

Moment of the Match - Sumit (U.P. Yoddhas)