Welcome to SportStar's live blog of today's Pro Kabaddi matches. Patna Pirates takes on UP Yoddha in a bid to close the gap to Bengaluru Bulls at the top of Zone B. It will be followed by Gujarat Fortunegiants match against Jaipur Pink Panthers.
Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Gujarat Fortunegiants
(Scores read Jaipur - Gujarat)
FULL TIME
Jaipur takes a point away, but Gujarat inches closer and closer to top of Zone A with a win here.
29-33 With less than a minute to go, the instructions are clear for Gujarat. Stay put.
28-33 That's two points to the Pink Panthers with a super tackle. It looked dangerous though, Sachin's body contorted as Jaipur's defenders try to keep him in. Jaipur gets away with a warning.
26-32 With two minutes to go, Jaipur is only six points away. But Gujarat has looked a tough side to break today.
24-32 Deepak Hooda gets a bonus but he's taken out right after, as Gujarat consolidates its position in the game. Just two left on the mat for Jaipur.
23-29 Prapanjan was forced into a do-or-die raid. But just as Jaipur looked to sit back and get the back as the raids runs out, their right corner gives away a cheap point in an attempt to tackle.
23-28 Jaipur sniffing an opportunity as Deepak Hooda brings them three points from a super raid and they take a time out with just six minutes to go.
20-26 Ajinkya gets one but Jaipur will need some more of those to get back into this.
19-23 Japiur is starting to make a comeback here. With a two-point raid from Ajinkya and a brilliant tackle at the other end, it's slowly closing the gap.
HALF TIME
Gujarat goes into half-time on top, with an eight-point lead.
10-18 Sandeep Dhull dashes from left corner to take out Sachin and this could be the start of a comeback of some sorts.
7-16 Out of absolutely nowhere, Dong Lee gets two points from a super raid and also wins a bonus point as Gujarat extends its lead.
6-13 Jaipur seemed to come back into the game after a spell of some good tackling. But with a super raid, Gujarat undoes all of it.
3-10 ALL OUT! Gujarat inflicts an early all-out on Jaipur. Just shows how dominant they've been.
3-5 Sachin capitalizes on a slip from a Jaipur defender. He spots the slip and gets a quick toe touch.
1-4 Deepak Hooda can't get out of Gujarat's half as Sachin Vittala gets a string hold on him. So far, Gujarat's defence has looked efficient.
1-3 Parvesh Bhainswal makes a good tackle. He's going to be crucial at left corner for Gujarat today.
Match Preview
With six wins in their previous seven games, Gujarat Fortunegiants head to Panchkula to build on that success when they take on Jaipur Pink Panthers at the Tau Devilal Sports Complex. A victory for Gujarat Fortunegiants will see them close the gap on the top spot in Zone A to just two points with an additional game in hand.
The two teams last faced off in Greater Noida where Gujarat Fortunegiants captain Sunil Kumar delivered an eight-tackle-point performance to help his team beat Jaipur Pink Panthers by a scoreline of 36-25.
The big battle – Deepak Niwas Hooda vs. Parvesh Bhainswal
Deepak Niwas Hooda’s incredible form has seen him score 57 raid points in his last five appearances, averaging a mammoth 11.40 raid points per game, making him one of the league’s most in-form players. The raider has amassed 152 raid points this campaign and, with five games left in the league stage, the possibility of a first-ever 200-raid-point season looms large for the mercurial raider. Hooda holds the key for his team’s offence, indicated by the fact that his tally of raid points is a 108 more than Jaipur Pink Panthers’ next best raider.
Parvesh Bhainswal has emerged as one of the league’s premier Cover defenders in Season 6 and is currently involved in a battle for the Best Defender award with U Mumba’s Fazel Atrachali and U.P. Yoddha’s Nitesh Kumar. Bhainswal’s 71 tackle points in 19 appearances see him third in the list of defenders with the most tackle points this season and his average of 3.74 tackle points per match ranks second-best in the league. However, his tackle strike rate of 67.61 is the best in VIVO Pro Kabaddi Season 6 among all players with over 20 tackle points. Prolific as well as efficient, Bhainswal has enjoyed a magnificent campaign and will aim to continue in the same vein for the rest of the season.
Patna Pirates vs UP Yoddha
(Scores read Patna Pirates - UP Yoddha)
FULL TIME 30-46
Pardeep Narwal couldn't fire for Patna Pirates today and their defence let them down as they lost to UP Yoddha 29-45 and puts their playoff chances in jeopardy.
29-45 Azad Singh contunes his good work, picking up his eight point of the game. He has been crucial for UP Yoddha this game.
26-44 UP Yoddha could revive their playoff chances with a win here and they look on course to do just that. Four minutes to go.
25-41 Nitesh Kumar with his first error of the game, gifting Patna a point. His ankle hold on Vijay isn't strong enough.
23-41 Pardeep just doesn't seem to have an answer to his team's troubles. He has struggled today and Patna needs more than a miracle to get back into this game.
In other news, Belgium is the world champion! It defeats Netherlands in a dramatic shootout to lift the Hockey World Cup for the first time. ( LIVE )
22-40 It's all turned pear-shaped for Patna Pirates very quickly as UP Yoddha dominates the game.
17-24 Pardeep's back on the bench. So uncharacteristic from Pardeep jumping right into the hands of the Yoddha defender.
HALF-TIME
17-22 Patna's defence lets it down again. Azad Singh picks up three points for Yoddha. There was no need to go for the tackle, more so for three people to go for it, Azad easily gets out of the half and now Patna goes into the interval five points down and with a lot of work to do.
16-18 Shrikanth Jadhav goes for the bonus point and gets it, but is too slow to get out and is tackled.
14-18 Super raid from Manjeet, puts Patna back in the game after a sustained spell of Yoddha dominance.
10-16 Nitesh gets the better of Pardeep for the third time today! So far, this battle has gone just one way. Five raids and still no points for Pardeep.
10-15 ALL OUT! Two brilliant back-to-back raids from Prashant Rai to take out the entire Patna team. Eight points in the last five minutes for UP Yoddha.
9-8 An excellent tackle on Manjeet. Jeeva and Rishank just keep him in their own half. Manjeet tries to wriggle out of their hold, but it's too strong.
5-7 That battle we were looking forward is finally taking shape here. Nitesh Kumar gets a strong ankle hold on Pardeep Narwal and that's a good point for Yoddha.
5-4 Prashanth Kumar Rai brings UP Yoddha on level terms and in the very next raid Manjeet gets a raid point with a running hand touch. UP Yoddha caught napping.
4-2 Rare error from Pardeep Narwal. Gets the touch, but steps into the lobby and gives UP yoddha a point.
3-0 Rishank Devadiga is taken down! Jaideep on left corner is alert to the danger and Patna has an early lead.
1-0 The tall and lanky Manjeet picks up the first points of the game for Patna Pirates
Match Preview
Head-To-Head (OVERALL)
Matches – 5 | U.P. Yoddha – 1 |Patna Pirates – 3 | Tie – 1
- U.P. Yoddha have beaten Patna Pirates only once in their 5 meetings. Patna Pirates have won 3 times while 1 match has ended in a tie.
- Patna have already won both previous meetings of PKL 6. The first meeting was a close encounter which Patna won 43-41. Patna won the second meeting by 6 points 43-37.
- Patna Pirates in PKL 6: 9 wins, 8 losses, 1 tie. Lost their last match against Telugu Titans by 5 points. Won 2 of their last 5 matches with 1 tie and 2 losses.
- U.P. Yoddha in PKL 6: 5 wins, 10 losses, 4 ties. Tied their last match against Tamil Thalaivas 25-25.
- UP Yoddha is unbeaten in their last 3 matches with 2 wins and a tie.
The big battle: Pardeep Narwal vs Nitesh Kumar
Pardeep Narwal has been the leader of the Patna Pirates’ raiding department once again this season. With 197 raid points in 17 games, Narwal is currently the second-highest scoring raider in the league. He averages more than a Super 10 a game and is on top of the league in terms of average raid points with 11.59 per match.
Nitesh Kumar has had a splendid campaign for U.P. Yoddha in Season 6. The Right Corner currently ranks second in the league in terms of tackle points with 72 from 19 matches. Kumar ranks first in average tackle points as well with 3.79 tackle points per match. Having inflicted six Super Tackles so far, Kumar is fourth in the league in that category
The battle between Narwal and Kumar will be an intriguing one as the Left Raider goes up against the Right Corner, who managed a High 5 in the team’s last game against Tamil Thalaivas.
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