New Delhi: UP Yoddhas defeated Patna Pirates 34-31 to win back-to-back matches in Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 12 at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Vizag on September 1, Monday. Yoddhas were trailing by eight points at one point of time in the game, but with the superb effort from their raiders, Yoddhas secured an impressive victory.
Yoddhas defenders Sumit and Ashu scored ‘High 5s’, while Gagan Gowda was the pick of the pack in the raiding unit, scoring seven points. In the starting 10 minutes, Patna led 7-6, with Ayan Lohchab scoring three raid points.
The experienced Maninder Singh made his presence felt with some successful raids to extend Patna’s lead. For the Yoddhas, Gowda chipped in with a couple of multi-point raids, while Ashu and Sumit tackled Patna’s raiders to cut down the lead.
Patna forced an all-out on Yoddhas but the defenders tackled Ayan to complete a super raid in the last minute of the first half. Despite the super tackle, Patna finished the first half ahead 19-13.
Comeback in second half
Patna maintained a lead of four points after 30 minutes. Bhavani Rajput and Gagan added crucial points in the second half while Yoddhas defenders were successful in not giving points to Ayan. Both teams started to play on do-or-die raids, and the game inched towards a tense phase.
Yoddhas didn’t bow down in the last crucial moments and forced an all-out on Pirates to level the score. Ayan managed to score just two points in the second half and failed to maintain the pressure on Yoddhas defenders.
Thus three-time PKL champions Patna lost their opening game of the new season, while the Yoddhas won their two consecutive match and moved to the top position in the points table.