Pro Kabaddi: Neeraj, Shadloui shine in Patna Pirate’s first victory of season 9; they beat Dabang Delhi KC by 37-33
The wait is finally over the Patna Pirate’s fans as their team registers the first victory in the 9th season of Pro Kabaddi. And what a fabulous victory it was.
They defeated the table toppers, the hot favorite, and the invincible looking Dabang Delhi KC to register their first victory of the season.
Match Report: Patna Pirates vs Daband Delhi KC
It was a clash between the table toppers and bottom dwellers at PKL 9. In the final match of the triple Panga night, Delhi took on Patna. And everyone had ruled the match in Delhi’s favor even before the start.
For that is how Delhi had played so far in this season. They had not won, but ploughed their way through their oppositions to register 5 victories on the trot.
Hence, giving them the edge against Patna, who had lost 4 out of their 5 encounters was not completely wrong.
But yet again the 3 times champions proved that world that you cannot rule them out. Patna came out of their trenches when nobody expected them to. And delivered one of the biggest upsets of the season.
Neeraj Kumar and Shadloui Chianeh come to life for Patna
So, what clicked for Patna, that delivered the first victory of the season?
It was not Rohit Gulia or Sachin Tanwar’s raiding partnership. Although it got Patna crucial 22 points, what really decided the game was their defence.
Patna Pirates, one of the best defenses of the tournament this season, was not performing to it’s potential. The likes of Neraj Kumar and Shadloui were no where near their full potential.
But one game was all they needed to turn things around. It was Neeraj, the captain, who took the initiative and performed some great tackles. He was soon joined in by his Iranian wing man Shadloui, who became the highest point scoring defender in his debut PKL season.
Together the duo won 7 points in defense for their team. Neeraj picked up 4 points while Shadloui showed his class by picking up 3.
Mighty Daband Delhi taste first defeat of season 9
This performance lifted the spirit of Patna’s raiders, who picked up points in crucial times to ensure that their team stayed ahead after picking up the lead in second half.
On the other hand, Dabang Delhi seemed to be flabbergasted by the Patna’s defense. In the second half of all, they almost forgot how-to pick-up points.
There was a point in the game, when Patna had picked up 15 points, while the mighty Delhi were struggling at 5 in the second half. This margin didn’t sustain for a long part of the game. But was just enough to hand Patna the winning momentum.
Only the Naveen Express seemed to have shined with 13 points in raids. But it went in vain.
As a result, Patna registered their first victory of the PKL 9 season. They defeated Dabang Delhi KC by 4 points in their 37-33 victory to hand them first defeat of the season.
