Bengal Warriors will take on Patna Pirates on Thursday at Chennai's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in the second qualifier, for a spot in the final of the fifth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League.
Pirates comes into the qualifier after a crushing 69-30 win over Haryana Steelers in the second eliminator on Monday. The tie saw Patna's star raider, Pardeep Narwal, score a record 34 raid points to set a new record for the highest number of points scored by a player in a match.
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Incidentally, Pardeep's 34 points were more than what the entire team of Haryana could muster. But that wasn't all. Pardeep set another record with his raiding exploits, and became the first player to score 300+ points in a single season. His current tally stands at a staggering 327, nearly 100 points over second-placed Rohit Kumar at 231.
Warriors, on the other hand, enters Thursday's game after suffering a 17-42 mauling at the hands of Gujarat FortuneGiants in the first qualifier.
Bengal, though, has another chance to make it to the final if it can script out a win on Thursday. Its charge will be led by raider Maninder Singh, who had clinched the PKL title in the first season with Jaipur Pink Panthers. Having missed the last three editions owing to injury, Maninder, who already has 173 raid points in his kitty, will look to take Bengal into its first final.
One thing that both teams have in common is that while both boast a staunch attack, their defences aren't quite as powerful.
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While Patna's not-so-effective defence, which has conceded a shocking 839 points in 24 games, has been overlooked due to its brilliant attack, Bengal doesn't enjoy the same luxury. Bengal’s average tackle points of 8.10 is the lowest by any team to have made the play-off stage.
The stage is all set for a historic Thursday evening as Patna aims to continue its dominating run and enter the final to bid for a record third consecutive title, while Bengal Warriors looks to secure a maiden shot at the title.
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