The Patna Pirates, a team who have won the Pro Kabaddi League title three times in the past, won all of the three matches they played this week. The latest win, the 38-29 hammering of defending champions Bengal Warriors now puts the team from Bihar on top of the leaderboard yet again this season.
Pawan Sehrawat now become the first player this season to score over 250 total points (raid and tackle). Image: Twitter @BengaluruBulls
The Pro Kabaddi League table has started to take shape, but the Puneri Paltan have started to make ground.
Two teams, from either end of the table, started and/or extended impressive winning runs this week.
The Patna Pirates, a team who have won the Pro Kabaddi League title three times in the past, won all of the three matches they played this week. The latest win, the 38-29 hammering of defending champions Bengal Warriors now puts the team from Bihar on top of the leaderboard yet again this season.
Meanwhile, placed 11th in the table, the Puneri Paltan have been silently piling on the wins. They played just one match this week, but the 36-34 win over U Mumba gave the Pune-based franchise a fourth consecutive win on the trot. It also gave the Paltan the double over their inter-state rivals.
There remains a strong chance for 11 of the 12 teams to still make it through to the knockout stages – Pune is just six points adrift of U Mumba, the team that currently occupies the last second round spot – the gap is smaller when considering a win earns a team five points.
Resurgent Paltan
Four wins on the trot is special for any team, but for a squad placed second from last in the table, all those four wins coming against the Top 6 is sure to give them a shot of confidence. That’s where the Puneri Paltan find themselves at the end of the week. In their last four matches they’ve beaten the Bengaluru Bulls, Dabang Delhi, UP Yoddha (who were placed sixth at the time, and have now fallen to seventh in the table), and U Mumba.
For a team eager to use the momentum to propel themselves forward, they have just the right person at the helm to help players channel that excitement. Anup Kumar, a legend in the game who won the PKL title as the U Mumba captain in Season 2, is by no means the most experienced kabaddi coach – this is only his second season as a coach. The 37-year-old, however, is a masterful tactician and a gifted man-manager.
He was dubbed ‘Captain Cool’ during his playing days for ability to keep his head even in the tensest situations. A few weeks ago, he gave a clear message to his players to be respectful of the opposition by not celebrating on the mat despite the Paltan’s commanding lead (they won that match against U Mumba 42-23).
The idea was to stay focused on the task at hand. And it seems that mindset has started to rub off on his squad. The Paltan are placed 11th in the 12-team table, but they’re not languishing.
The four wins keeps them just six points short of sixth spot – still well within their reach – and they’ve played fewer matches than any other team so far. At the same time, the Paltan players have started to find their groove.
PKL debutant Mohit Goyat was a key figure in the last four matches, notching up three Super 10s. He was keenly supported by the other debutant Aslam Inamdar, who is enjoying a breakthrough season. In defence, Sombir has picked up two Hi5s in the Paltan’s run.
Patna’s defensive star
In the past few seasons, Pardeep Narwal was synonymous with the Patna Pirates. But now that the raider has moved on, the Pirates have sported a team of players with names not as prominent as the ‘record-breaker.’
But that doesn’t mean they cannot create new stars. Enter Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh.
A swashbuckling 21-year-old, Shadloui is one of the newest sensations to have emerged from Iran. He plays in the same left corner position occupied by Iran captain Fazel Atrachali. But for the Pirates, he’s made that spot his own – especially this past week.
Of the 37 tackle points the Pirates notched up in their last matches, Shadloui was responsible for 18 of them – he’s currently on a run of scoring three consecutive Hi5s. It has helped him become only the second player to cross 50 tackle points this season (he has a total of 57 tackle points).
The raiding department has been on song, and Shadloui, with his youthful daring and the power to back up those defensive charges, has been the Pirates’ pillar.
Pawan crosses 250
The Bulls have been struggling, but their captain Pawan Sehrawat has continued to impress. He’s now become the first player this season to score over 250 total points (raid and tackle). The ‘Hi-flyer’ has scored 244 raid points this season, including 14 Super 10s. Additionally, he’s contributed with eight tackle points for a total of 252.
He’s trailed by Bengal Warriors’ talisman Maninder Singh, who’s scored 208 so far this season.
Results
1 February
Gujarat Giants bt Bengal Warriors 34-25
Bengaluru Bulls bt UP Yoddha 31-26
2 February
Patna Pirates bt UP Yoddha 37-35
Puneri Paltan bt U Mumba 36-34
3 February
Jaipur Pink Panthers bt Dabang Delhi 36-30
Tamil Thalaivas bt Telugu Titans 43-25
4 February
Haryana Steelers bt Bengal Warriors 46-29
Dabang Delhi tie with Bengaluru Bulls 36-36
Patna Pirates bt Gujarat Giants 43-23
5 February
U Mumba bt Tamil Thalaivas 35-33
UP Yoddha bt Telugu Titans 39-35
Haryana Steelers bt Jaipur Pink Panthers 35-28
6 February
Patna Pirates bt Bengal Warriors 38-29
Gujarat Giants bt Bengaluru Bulls 40-36
7 February
Jaipur Pink Panthers bt Gujarat Giants 36-31
Bengal Warriors tie with Telugu Titans 32-32
Deepti Patwardhan is a freelance sports writer based in Mumbai.
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