On day 5 of Pro Kabaddi League, UP Yoddhas led by Rishank Devadiga took on Pardeep Narwal’s Patna Pirates on Thursday evening at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai. The match between both teams as expected was quite exciting as scoreboard no side could have clear edge till the very end. In the end, Patna Pirates won the match with 43-41.
Earlier, all eyes were on star raiders – Pardeep Narwal and Rishank Devadiga who had a mixed start to the season. Pardeep Narwal produced a strong raiding performance as he scored 16 points to lead Patna to victory. For UP Yoddha, Rishank Devadiga led from the front and took out three Patna defenders for a super raid. Shrikant Jadhav scored 12 points but it was a case of so near yet so far. The difference between the teams was also their defensive strength. While Patna Pirates scored 11 tackle points, UP Yoddha got just seven points. UP Yoddha got out of the blocks quicker than their opponents as they led 4-1 after two minutes. Pardeep Narwal scored his first point of the match in the third minute as Patna Pirates trailed 3-5. After a slow start, Patna pirates fought their way back into the match. Pradeep of Patna Pirates won back to back raid point while defender Kuldeep Singh brings down Rishank Devadiga of UP Yoddhas emphatically with the scoreboard   7-9. In the 14th minute, UP Yoddha inflicted the first all out of the match to lead 20-15. In the last five minutes of the first half, it was all Patna Pirates as they scored six consecutive points to lead 21-20 at the break. It was a big win for Patna Pirates when the Patna defenders brought down Rishank Devadiga to win three points for their team as it was a super tackle.  After a game-changing moment when Pradeep Narwal was grabbed easily by the UP defenders, Srikant Jadhav leveled the match by picking up two points during his raid with the score chart 39-37.
In the second match of the day, Bengal Warriors beat Tamil Thalaivas by a margin of 36-27. In Friday’s matches, Haryana Steelers will face Gujarat Fortunegiants whereas Puneri Paltan will play Dabang Delhi KC.