Best Defender of the Match – Hadi Oshtorak (Patna Pirates)
Best Raider of the Match – Pardeep Narwal (Patna Pirates)
Talk about the beauty of Pro Kabaddi coming into place. It is an Indian tournament in a game played mainly by Indians but on the biggest stage, we have Iranians taking centrestage and bringing glory to a Patna side. Beautiful Beautiful. What a match!!!!
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FULL TIME Patna Pirates 37 – 33 Puneri Paltan
40’ Patna Pirates 37 – 33 Puneri Paltan – Is that the game sealed for Patna Pirates??? They inflict the ALL OUT with just a minute to go. Deepak Niwas Hooda gets the bonus to bring Pardeep on to raid and he gets MANJEET. Deepak comes on to raid next and FAZEL shows who is boss. Pardeep runs down the clock. ITS OVER!!!! PATNA ARE IN THE FINAL
39’ Patna Pirates 32 – 31 Puneri Paltan – Despite being on the backfoot, Patna have not brought back Dharmaraj Cheralathan. Meanwhile, RAJESH MONDAL with a stupendous raid to draw proceedings level and take the captain of Puneri Paltan with him. Just under three minutes to go and Puneri Paltan bring on Preetam Chhillar. Super Tackle on for Pune as Pradeep raids but he goes back. Preetam with the do or die raid and he is taken down. Patna lead again. It is Fazel again, How good has he been tonight. Pardeep Narwal then takes one more man. Pune staring at an All Out. Last chance for Pune and they raid through Sonu Narwal, who gets the point.
36’ Patna Pirates 27 – 29 Puneri Paltan – What a contest we have on our hands here. Pardeep Narwal claims the touch on Manjeet and gets it. The lead is down to three points and the onus is on Pardeep. He delivers again!!! What a raid from Pardeep to take Deepak out. This match is bound to give a couple of people a heart attack. The lead is two points and Ajay Thakur plays on the do or die raid. Nitin Tomar is tackled down. Lead down to one point and it is Hadi. Pune have just four men on the mat but they get PARDEEP.
34’ Patna Pirates 24 – 28 Puneri Paltan – Patna get a point back but Puneri Paltan keep the lead to three by taking their raider down. Manjeet Chhillar has captilised on this and Puneri Paltan have turned this game on its head. Suddenly, with just under eight minutes remaining, Patna Pirates are down by four. Luckily for them Fazel is back on the mat here. Deepak Hooda runs down the clock n his raid and it brings on Pardeep, who gets Manjeet. Lead down to three
32’ Patna Pirates 22 – 25 Puneri Paltan – The game resumes and Super Tackle on again for Patna. What happens? FAZEL ATRACHALI is ridiculous. SIxth Super Tackle for Patna on the night!!! What is happening here? Fazel has been shown a yellow card! This is getting really interesting. Fazel has been sent off for using an illegal tackle. Patna review the call. Lots of drama. UNSUCCESSFUL. Puneri Paltan have a lifeline and they capitalise by reducing them to one man. ALL OUT!! What a turnaround!!
31’ Patna Pirates 22 – 19 Puneri Paltan – Every time Puneri Paltan have pushed Patna Pirates back, the Iranians have raised their hands and got the job done for the defending champions. I dare say, the Iranians might just win it for Patna tonight. Meanwhile, do or die raid for Patna and Rajesh Mondal is tackled down. Pune reduce the lead to three by an excellent combination tackle. TIMEOUT
29’ Patna Pirates 22 – 18 Puneri Paltan – What a substitution from Patna Pirates!! Abolfazel comes on and gets the touch point straight away. That is followed by a SUPER TACKLE by Pardeep Narwal!! Yes, Pardeep Narwal with an excellent ankle hold. Patna are in the lead again and have four men on the mat. More importantly for them, Deepak Niwas Hooda is off. Do or die raid for Patna and Pardeep comes on. Pune get him and it is Manjeet again. Does not matter. SUPER TACKLE!!! What is going on. The Iranians are killing it.
26’ Patna Pirates 17 – 17 Puneri Paltan – Both teams decide to play for the do or die raid and the pressure is again on Rajesh Mondal to get the job done for Patna but his counterpart Deepak Niwas Hooda with an excellent back hold. WOW, Deepak excelling in defence as well and then gets Bajirao on the do or die raid to bring down the lead to one. Pune capitalise and Somvir gets Surjeet’s ankle. Patna are down to to men!!
23’ Patna Pirates 17 – 14 Puneri Paltan – Patna start the second half and it is Rajesh Mondal, who looks wary of Manjeet Chhillar and decides to not have a go. A quick empty raid by Deepak Niwas Hooda brings Surjeet on and he too goes back. Deepak quickly forces the do or die and Rajesh Mondal attacks. Manjeet Chhillar goes for his right ankle but Mondal evades and gets the point. It does not matter as Deepak Niwas Hooda delivers yet again. What form is he in here!! Great start to second half! Patna’s lead is intact.
SECOND HALF UNDERWAY
What an amazing half of kabaddi we have had here in Hyderabad. Patna Pirates have dominated the game, especially in defence, but Manjeet Chhillar and Deepak Niwas Hooda have combined to keep their team in the hunt. Stay tuned, we will be back with the second half shortly.
HALF TIME Patna Pirates 16 – 13 Puneri Paltan
20’ Patna Pirates 16 – 13 Puneri Paltan - Deepak Niwas Hooda has shown great character tonight in the first half and this has been a first half worthy of a semi-final. Nitin Tomar’s do or die raid ends the first period and Hadi gets the tackle with a diving ankle hold. PHEWWWW!!! Breathtaking stuff.
19’ Patna Pirates 15 – 13 Puneri Paltan - Pune manage to revive Deepak Niwas Hooda and he raids. But they decide to play on the Super Tackle with Manjeet on the mat. Pardeep Narwal raids but he too decides to force the do or die raid. Deepak Niwas Hooda gets the point. He is a star and shows why by getting a running hand touch on Kuldeep. Manjeet Chhillar then shows who is boss. He gets Pardeep Narwal. SUPER TACKLE again.
17’ Patna Pirates 15 – 11 Puneri Paltan - Do or die raid for Rajesh Mondal and he gets it right. Patna are building a sizeable lead here and a do or die for Ajay Thakur turns into a nightmare for Pune and Fazel takes the big man down. Puneri Paltan are down to three men here. They bring on Sonu Narwal to attack but he steps into the lobby and the All Out looks inevitable now. NO!! Manjeet delivers a SUPER TACKLE!!! WOW. Talk about action. Lead down to four points.
14’ Patna Pirates 12 – 9 Puneri Paltan - SUPER TACKLE again!!! Fazel Atrachali has been stunning tonight. After helping his team get level by taking down Deepak Niwas Hooda, he tackles Parmod Narwal to put his team in the lead. Puneri Paltan have reviewed this. UNSUCCESSFUL. Poor judgement from Manjeet here. Patna are showing why they are so good. Stunning stuff!!!
12’ Patna Pirates 9 – 9 Puneri Paltan – A see-saw affair going in here as both teams are getting the points. Surjeet gives Patna the lead but an error from Kuldeep draws Puneri Paltan level. Nitin Tomar then puts Puneri Paltan ahead with an excellent raid but Pardeep Narwal then gets the better of Manjeet Chhillar to send him out. Parmod Narwal with a SUPER RAID!!! Wow!! Dharmara and Bajirao are gone. Patna staring at an All Out!!! No!! SUPER TACKLE by the Iranian duo of Fazel and Hadi. What a match!!!
9’ Patna Pirates 4 – 4 Puneri Paltan - The lead does not stay for long and SURJEET produces a two point raid for Patna two bring them back to full strength and in the lead. Pardeep is back and he raids, looking quite menacing, but decides to remain calm. Manjeet Chhillar is off the mat and it is a do or die raid for Deepak Niwas Hooda. He gets Cheralathan again!!! The teams are level. What a contest this is turning out to be. Manjeet is back.
6’ Patna Pirates 2 – 3 Puneri Paltan - Patna are already showing excellent composure tonight and they have not allowed any Puneri Paltan raider to get away with anything. The game is being played on the do or die raids at the moment. Deepak Niwas Hooda, on the do or die raid, capitalises on the error from Cheralathan and gets off the mark. Pardeep Narwal, tries the dubki on his do or die, and is sent out. PUneri Paltan lead.
3’ Patna Pirates 2 – 1 Puneri Paltan – Ajay Thakur starts proceedings to get the semi-final underway and it is a customary empty raid. Rajesh Mondal comes on next for Patna but he too goes back without anything. Red hot Deepak Niwas Hooda raids next but he decides against doing anything stupid. Bonus specialist Surjeet Singh tries but is unable to. Nitin Tomar gets the touch point on the do or die raid but Rajesh gets two to put Patna in the lead.
LET THE GAME BEGIN!! KHEL KABADDI
Patna Pirates, on the other hand, have a starting line-up that is fit and relaxed. Their starting seven features Dharmaraj Cheralathan, Pardeep Narwal, Rajesh Mondal, Bajirao Hodage, Kuldeep Singh, Surjeet Singh and Fazel Atrachali. This is looking set for an amazing contest.
Pune’s starting line-up looks solid with Ajay Thakur, Manjeet Chhillar, Deepak Niwas Hooda and Joginder Narwal all fit and raring to go. Somvir Shekhar, Nitin Tomar and Parmod Narwal will be looking to provide good support to the big four. Ravinder Pahal is going to be a big miss and how Pune cope up will be interesting to see.
There it is folks, we will have actress Chitrangada Singh singng the national anthem tonight. The atmosphere in Hyderabad looks electric and we are inching closer to the start of the semi-finals of Pro Kabaddi 4.
Manjeet Chhillar is clear as a crystal with his word and his defending is not half bad either. However, the opposition’s defensive combination, Atrachali and Cheralathan, is going to be a pain for Deepak Niwas Hooda and co.
Pardeep Narwal and Rajesh Mondal will be fancying their chances now that Ravinder Pahal is not playing while Manjeet Chhillar is going to have a lot more to do tonight, his leadership becomes even more critical now.
Big news coming in from the match’s perspective and Puneri Paltan will be without key defender Ravinder Pahal tonight. This surely cannot be good news for the team from Maharashtra.
Catch the live commentary of this game in Hindi here
Good evening friends and welcome the live coverage of the first semi-final of Pro Kabaddi 2016 Season 4 between Patna Pirates and Puneri Paltan from Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad. After over thirty days of relentless competition between eight teams, we have come down to the final four and are heading towards the business end of the tournament. In the first of the two semi-finals, defending champions Patna Pirates take on Puneri Paltan and it promises to be a stellar contest.
Patna Pirates have been the best side on display in Pro Kabaddi 2016 Season 4, just ahead of Telugu Titans, who have destroyed most teams in the league. The defending champions have extraordinary balance in their squad and are complete in every aspect possible. While they have the raiding abilities of Pardeep Narwal and Rajesh Narwal, the likes of Fazel Atrachali and Bajirao Hodage form a strong defence.
Last, but hardly the least, is the leadership of the wily old fox called Dharmaraj Cheralathan, who, despite making a few mistakes, has led Patna Pirates superbly. Looking at statistics in detail, Patna have a lot to depend upon Pardeep Narwal and Rajesh Mondal, who have produced more than 150 raid points in total, which is quite exceptional. In terms of defence, Fazel Atrachali is second only to Mohit Chillar in number of successful tackles in Pro Kabaddi 4.
Although Patna Pirates are a solid side, they would need to be careful to not switch off and make silly errors, which they have done on certain occasions this season. They would need to be wary of the fact that Puneri Paltan have the momentum and know how to deal with do or die games better than Patna. In a lot of ways, this game is Patna’s to lose and should they play kabaddi at par with their average level in this tournament, the Pirates should go through their second consecutive final.
Puneri Paltan are the form side in the tournament at the moment, having won their previous two games and both being do or die ones. After beginnng the tournament really well, the Paltan went a little off track and things got worse as they lost captain Manjeet Chhillar due to injury. However, his return has buoyed the team from Maharashtra and they showed great character to make it to the semi-finals by beating Bengaluru Bulls after being down by nine points at half time.
If there is one man who will be looking to make this his day, it will be Deepak Niwas Hooda – a man who has starred for Puneri Paltan in the toughest of times. Hooda has scored over a hundred raid points this season and performed even better when he was the captain. A lot will depend on how he tackles the likes of Bajirao Hodage and Fazel Atrachali on the night. He will need the support of experienced campaigner Ajay Thakur, who has been pretty decent this season.
Defensively, Puneri Paltan will need to be on their toes and any sort of slip up against the might of Pardeep Narwal is not going to bode well for them. Manjeet Chhillar, their maverick captain, will be looking to lead from the front and counter the might of Patna’s attack. He would need the full support of Ravinder Pahal, who got injured in the last match but will surely figure tonight.
KEY TALKING POINTS
Patna Pirates
Patna's left raiders, Pardeep Narwal and Surjeet Singh, will be facing the challenge of 'Mighty' Manjeet Chillar at the left cover position. Pardeep will have to go beyond his comfort zone against Manjeet. Not only Manjeet, he should also be aware of 'The Hawk' Ravinder Pahal at the right corner position. Surjeet might be the trump-card for Patna tonight as he has good escaping ability and Cover defenders always prefer to go for advance tackles.
Puneri Paltan
Two left raiders, Deepak Hooda and Nitin Tomer will be up against Patna's right corner and left corner defenders that is Dharmraj Cheralathan and Fazel Atrachali respectively. Deepak hasn't fired in both the league matches against Patna, tonight he will have to perform. His running hand touches has been so fluent this season and he should target Patna's right cover, Kuldeep Singh and left corner,Fazel Atrachali tonight.
