PKL | Pradeep Narwal’s heroics help Patna Pirates sink Telugu Titans 35-29
PKL
Pradeep Narwal led Patna Pirates by example as he claimed an astounding 15 raid points to help the Pirates beat Telugu Titans 35-29 in the fourth game of the PKL 2017 at the Gachibowli Indoor stadium. The game was a treat for fans as played at a ferocious pace and swung both ways till the end.
Telugu Titans & Patna Pirates fight tooth and nail
Patna Pirates started the game on the front foot as they took an early 2-0 lead as Monu Goyat managed a toe touch on Telugu Titans no.35. However, Telugu came back strong as they levelled the score at 2-2 when Vishal Bhardwaj blocked Patna’s raider Vishnu. The game started to pick up the pace from when Rahul Chaudhari managed to take out four Patna players in two successive raids to level the score for the Telugu Titans at 6-6. At this point, Patna got one point as Nilesh Salunkhe got out. With both teams going neck and neck, Vikas made good use of lobby to escape a block hold by Patna and hand Telugu Titans an important 10-7 lead. However, that did not deter Patna as Pardeep earned a raid point that reduced the deficit to 10-9. Some moments later, another brilliant effort from raider Monu Goyat took out Rahul Chaudhari and levelled the score at 12-12. Right before half-time, Rahul came back into the game with two Patna men o the court and Vishal Mane came barging in with a block hold on Chaudhari to inflict back-to-back super tackles on the raid machine. This meant that Patna went into the break with a slender one point lead with the score at 15-14.
Pradeep Narwal steps up to the plate
Rakesh Kumar was shown a green card early in the second half. However, despite this, Titans got the first point after the break to level the score at 15-15. Moreover, what seemed like a hat-trick of super tackles on Chaudhari, later that turned out to be a shirt-pulling offence that saw Mane sit out for two minutes after given a yellow card. With only one Titans player on the mat, Patna decided to bring in Manish for Jawahar but the raider managed to get only the bonus point as he was taken down by Telugu Titans as they went on to inflict the first all-out on Patna Pirates. After extending their lead to 19-16, Telugu allowed Pradeep Narwal a bonus point but he was dashed out of the game. At this point, Telugu Titans were shown another green card in the form of Rohit Rana, with the score now at 21-17. Rahul Chaudhari on the other hand, seemed frustrated as his claims for a bonus went in vain. At this point, Telugu managed to re-establish their lead in the game as Bhardwaj completed his high five by holding ankle of Monu Goyat. It was a mixed night for Rahul Chaudhari as he saw many failed attempts for bonus points and raids. Further, now, with Pardeep back into the game, he managed a raid point off Rohit Rana to take the score to 25-24. With the game swinging both ways, Pradeep Narwal stepped up to the plate and produced his signature ‘dubki’ move which took three Titans players out and gave Patna a two-point lead at 27-25. On the other hand, Rahul Chaudhari’s day went from bad to worse as he was taken out by Vishal Mane which further consolidated Patna’s lead. Finally, with less than three minutes to play and the score at 26-33 against the Titans, Nilesh Salunkhe tried to decrease the gap as he managed two points to take the score to 28-33. However, it wasn’t enough for the Titans as Pradeep continued his blistering form on the mat and took out Salunkhe to seal the game in Patna’s favour with the final score reading 39-25.
