Patna Pirates needed a victory against Gujarat Giants in order to sustain the pressure on table-toppers Dabang Delhi and they exactly did that last night (Saturday, January 8) in a Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) match. The match might have been a low-scoring affair but in terms of excitement and thrill, there was no shortage of any of those.
Pirates turned out to be the victorious side after they managed to oust their rivals Giants by a margin of just a point (27-26) and ended the night after climbing up to second position.
Positive intent from beginning
Pirates looked positive from the very beginning and determined to seal victory as the best raider of the night- Prashanth Kumar Rai helped his side Pirates in gaining an early lead. Due to the brilliance of Rai, Pirates managed to secure the victory as the star raider claimed eight raid points in total in the game.
But a resilient show by the Giants players helped in reducing the deficit and but their opponents were prompt enough in responding sharply as their prolific attacking display left the Gujarat-side with a lone player on the mat pretty soon.
The three-time champions ended the first half on a higher note after gaining a two-point lead over their opponents also they managed to execute the first all-out just shortly before the half time.
A prompt reply
Giants, on the other hand, showed no intent of being casual in their approach as just four minutes after the half time break they pulled off two more points to bring the equilibrium back to the game.
But in a match, that was full of ups and downs, Pirates soon reclaimed their two-point lead as their defender Sajin C landed two back-to-backs super tackles. Sajin also went on to become the best defender of the night with crucial five tackle points in his kitty.
In the final do-or-die raid of the night, Rai made an attempt to claim a bonus point but ended up conceding a point. Though, that was not enough for the Giants as they fell just a point short to get something out of the last encounter of the Saturday night.
Other results
Previously, in the first match of the night, Dabang Delhi claimed a victory after defeating U.P. Yoddha (37-33).
In the second match of the night, U Mumba thrashed their opponents Telugu Titans (48-38) to secure a win.
