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In the first match of the night UP Yoddha beat Patna Pirates 35-36 on December 25 (Saturday), as all eyes were on “record-breaker” Pardeep Narwal who moved from Patna Pirates to UP Yoddha after a massive bid at the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) auctions.
Though, Narwal had a poor start to his season for the UP Yoddha, scoring only 8 points in their defeat against Bengal Warriors. His biggest challenge at UP Yoddha seemed to be the lack of another strong raider who can revive him quickly.
Early bonus
UP Yoddha clinched an early bonus (3-0) after Monu Goyat went back empty-handed at the very beginning as Pardeep Narwal got a bonus point. Then Sachin was tackled by Sumit as Pardeep returned to get one more bonus.
Up Yoddha secured a three-point lead (5-2) after Narwal got touches on both Goyat and Sachin.
Pirates clawed back minutes later (7-6) as Narwal was tackled after Goyat raided successfully.
UP Yoddha managed to increase their lead (12-7) after Shrikant Jadav got a Super Raid as Goyat returned with a touch. For Up Yoddha, Narwal managed to get a touch with a intelligent turn and acceleration.
Prolific form
Narwal managed to sustain his prolific form as minutes later the Sonepat-born player secured his eighth raid point of the night and helped his side gain a lead of four points (15-11).
Though, Pirates were prompt to ensure a comeback after some super tackles helped them to score a lead of one point (16-15).
Patna Pirates increased their lead (20-17) after Narwal tried an escape move but opponents held him down to score another effective super tackle.
The match went down to the wire. Pirates skipper Prashanth got a bonus to equalise the score (25-25) and then went on to attempt a brilliant comeback after his back kick brought the deficit down to only one point (34-35). But eventually UP Yoddha emerged victorious after they managed to ensure one-point lead (36-35).
The three-time champions, Patna Pirates were expected to struggle after losing their star raider but Goyat (15 points) and Sachin (7 points) stepped up in their first game of the season against Haryana Steelers to clinch a win.
