PKL 9: Pardeep Narwal stars in another victory for UP Yoddhas

Gujarat Giants and Haryana Steelers also won their match to stay alive in the tournament.

UP Yoddhas vs U Mumba

The inimitable Pardeep Narwal was on fire as the UP Yoddhas put in a superb show, defeating U Mumba by 38-28 in Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) 9 on Friday at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium. While Pardeep Narwal was the star of the night for the UP Yoddhas with 13 points, Rohit Tomar (8 points) and Sumit (4 points) provided ample support, helping them register a crucial win.  

After a slow couple of minutes to start with, it was U Mumba who were out of the blocks quickest with Guman Singh’s raids getting things going. Pardeep Narwal and the UP Yoddhas followed suit soon enough as the crowd made their presence felt from the get go. Giving Pardeep a hand was Rohit Tomar and Sandeep Narwal, as UP Yoddhas pulled level on the 9-minute mark in the game.  

As the first half progressed, both sides continued to trade blows and points regularly, before the UP Yoddhas’ Pardeep landed a Super Raid, helping his side get their noses out in front. Nitesh Kumar led the next tackle, making it an ALL OUT as the UP Yoddhas stretched their lead. Soon enough, the momentum was with Pardeep and co, as the players went into a breather with the UP Yoddhas leading 19-14.  

Guman had Surinder Singh and Heidarali Ekrami giving him solid support, chipping away at UP Yoddhas’ lead early in the second half, even as Pardeep inched closer to another Super 10. With just over ten minutes to go, U Mumba’s determination meant the contest was on a knife edge, as the scores read 22-20 in UP Yoddhas’ favour.   

The U Mumba side were putting pressure on their opponents, before a superb tackle by Sumit on Guman helped UP Yoddhas get some breathing space. Time wasn’t on U Mumba’s side, who had their task cut out in the final minutes, especially with Pardeep clinching a few crucial raid points. With 4 minutes to go, the UP Yoddhas had a 10-point lead.  

U Mumba threw the kitchen sink at UP Yoddhas in the final moments, but Pardeep and co were having none of it, as they eventually ran out comfortable winners on the night. 

Patna Pirates vs Gujarat Giants

The Gujarat Giants dented the Patna Pirates’ chances of making the playoffs of PKL 9 with a brilliant 40-34 win against them at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium on Friday. Mahendra Rajput (12 points), Sonu (5 points) and Parteek Dahiya (5 points) were the stars for Gujarat Giants.  

Despite holding faint hope to reach the playoffs, the two teams kicked off at a high pace, trading points constantly, in the early exchanges. At the end of the first 10 minutes, every Gujarat Giants player on the mat had scored a point, a measure of how high energy the game was turning out to be. Facing an ALL OUT, the Gujarat Giants held the Patna Pirates’ raiders off on multiple occasions, before finally capitalising and turning the game on its head. A SUPER RAID by Mahendra Rajput took out C Sajin, Mohammadreza Chiyaneh, Monu and Sachin, to leave the Patna Pirates in trouble.

Despite a brief Patna Pirates fightback, led in the form of a SUPER TACKLE by Neeraj Kumar on Parteek Dahiya, the Gujarat Giants soon got the first ALL OUT of the game. They inflicted it with five minutes left in the first half to take a 18-16 lead. The Patna Pirates' Rohit Gulia got his ten points from the game in one half itself, but Rajput's raids kept catching the Patna Pirates cold. The Gujarat Giants went into the break leading 23-20. 

The Gujarat Giants picked up from where they had left off after the break, Dahiya and Dong Geon keeping them in front. Faced with another ALL OUT the Patna Pirates pulled off a SUPER TACKLE to stay within range.   

Rajput completed 10 points of his own soon in the half. The game though stayed tight, neither team ceding ground, and the lead never extending two points. The teams traded DO OR DIE raids, with Sachin and Sonu prolific on the raid.  

Right in the final moments though, the Gujarat Giants streaked ahead, and even inflicted a second ALL OUT on the Patna Pirates to all but condemn them to a loss, while taking a 39-31 lead. The Gujarat Giants eventually held on to take a valuable win.  

Haryana Steelers vs Bengal Warriors

Haryana Steelers continued their winning run as they picked up 32-26 win over Bengal Warriors in vivo Pro Kabaddi League Season 9 match on Friday at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium. Meetu and Jaideep starred in the match for the Haryana Steelers, as they earned 6 points each to help their team get their third win in a row. Shrikant Jadhav was the leading points scorer for the Bengal Warriors, picking 7 points, but it was not enough to turn the tide.

Manjeet started the encounter for Steelers with a bonus point, but he was caught by Girish on the first attempt. With Meetu getting a touch on Vaibhav, Haryana Steelers took a 2-1 lead. Jaideep took out Shrikant Jadhav with a strong tackle and Haryana Steelers extended lead by two points. Minutes later, Deepak Hooda earned a raid point to level the scoreline at 6-6.

Vaibhav took down Meetu with an ankle hold as Bengal Warriors took lead for the first time in the match. A defensive error from Mohit further allowed Warriors to extend their lead by two points. But a SUPER TACKLE by Jaideep once again brought Steelers back on level terms.

At the start of the second half, Meetu earned an easy raid point to put Bengal Warriors under pressure. Haryana quickly inflicted an ALL OUT on the Bengal Warriors to widen the gap to 19-13. Rakesh Narwal showcased his skills in defense as he caught Deepak Hooda. The Mohit and Jaideep combination came alive and earned quick points as the Haryana Steelers gained a nine-point lead with 10 minutes left on the clock.

The second half started with Manjeet getting caught by Deepak Hooda straightaway as Bengal Warriors maintained their control of the match. But K Prapanjan earned a four-point super raid as Haryana Steelers began their fightback. With a SUPER TACKLE on Manjeet, Vijay Malik earned two points for Bengal Warriors and ensured they do not allow the opposition any room to get back in the game.

Shrikant kept getting raid points as Bengal Warriors ensured Haryana Steelers continue to remain on their toes. But a couple of defensive errors from the Bengal Warriors allowed Manjeet to get two points for Haryana Steelers, thus, ensuring their lead. Rakesh earned a late three-point SUPER RAID and the Haryana Steelers picked up another thrilling victory.

Awards on 2/12/2022 

PKL 9 Day 48 Match 1: UP Yoddhas vs U Mumba  

vivo Perfect Player of the Match – Pardeep Narwal (UP Yoddhas)  

Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match – Sumit (UP Yoddhas) 

Moment of the Match - Sumit (UP Yoddhas) 

PKL 9 Day 48 Match 2: Patna Pirates vs Gujarat Giants 

vivo Perfect Player of the Match – Mahendra Ganes Rajput (Gujarat Giants)    

Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match – Sourav Gulia (Gujarat Giants) 

Moment of the Match – Mahendra Ganes Rajput (Gujarat Giants)    

PKL 9 Day 48 Match 3: Haryana Steelers vs Bengal Warriors  

vivo Perfect Player of the Match – Jaideep (Haryana Steelers)     

Dream 11 Gamechanger of the Match – Monu (Haryana Steelers)  

Moment of the Match – Rakesh Narwal (Haryana Steelers)