Patna Pirates were crowned champions at the recently concluded season 4 of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi (PKL) for the second time, becoming the only team to achieve this. Despite being the only team to do the ‘double’ over the Pirates, Jaipur Pink Panthers came up short against the spirited Patna-based franchise in the final.
The men in green forged a lethal unit this season and dominated the league right from the outset. So wouldn't it be an interesting exercise to see how they would fare if they came up against a Rest of PKL seven.
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We take a look at how the Pirates players would match up against the best of the rest, and how the two teams would fare against one another:
Fazel Atrachali vs Mohit Chhillar
Fazel was adjudged as the ‘Best defender of season 4’ for his outstanding performance with the Patna Pirates. The left corner went on complete 45 tackles at a 62.5% success rate, the most by any player in season 4 of the Star Sports PKL. On the other hand, Bengaluru Bulls’ Mohit Chhillar racked up a total of 44 successful tackles to finish in the top 3.
Verdict: Fazel Atrachali (Patna Pirates 1-0 Rest of PKL): Talent wise, the two are almost similar. But, Fazel Atrachali won the title with Patna Pirates and he edges out Mohit, who could only manage a 6th place finish with the Bulls.
Surjeet Singh vs Deepak Niwas Hooda
Indian international Surjeet Singh claimed 33 raid points, a fair return considering he was playing second fiddle to Pardeep Narwal for Patna Pirates. On the other hand, Deepak Niwas Hooda had one of his best seasons so far as he went on to claim a mammoth 126 raid points – the 3rd highest in the league and helped the Puneri Paltan to finish a respectable 3rd position!
Verdict: Deepak Niwas Hooda (Patna Pirates 1-1 Rest of PKL): Deepak Niwas Hooda is one of the best raiders in PKL currently and the youngster easily beats the experienced Surjeet to level the tie.
Bajirao Hodage vs Ran Singh
34-year-old Bajirao Hogade was instrumental in Patna Pirates’ title-winning campaign by making the left cover position his own and claiming a total of 20 successful tackles. Ran Singh, too, was a rock at the back for Jaipur Pink Panthers and helped them to the final and conjured up 27 successful tackles.
Verdict: Bajirao Hogade (Patna Pirates 2-1 Rest of PKL): Despite Ran Singh completing more tackles, Bajirao’s impact with Patna Pirates was greater as he often got them out of tricky situations
Pardeep Narwal vs Rohit Kumar
19-year-old sensation Pardeep Narwal was adjudged as the ‘Most Valuable player of season 4’ for his blistering performaces this season as he went onto claim a colossal 131 raid points – the second highest in the league. He also broke the record for scoring most points in the final with 16 points to help his team win the title. Last season’s MVP Rohit Kumar played only 14 matches as the Bulls failed to make the semis, but he was statistically the 4th best raider with 93 raid points.
Verdict: Pardeep Narwal (Patna Pirates 3-1 Rest of PKL): There is no doubting Rohit’s talent, but based on this season’s performances, Pardeep Narwal beats the Services player hands down.
Kuldeep Singh vs Manjeet Chhillar
24-year-old Kuldeep Singh started almost every match for the men in green and helped keep the champions a tight ship at the back. Season 2 MVP Manjeet Chhillar led his side from the front and even broke the record for most tackle points in a single match when he scored 11 vs Bengaluru Bulls in their final league match.
Verdict: Manjeet Chhillar (Patna Pirates 3-2 Rest of PKL): With 43 successful tackles as compared to 29 by Kuldeep, the 29-year-old keeps Rest of PKL in the hunt!
Rajesh Mondal vs Rahul Chaudhari
Former Bengaluru Bulls star Rajesh Mondal made his mark in season 4 by having a wonderful outing for the Patna Pirates, returning with 57 raid points. He was his team’s go-to player when it came to do-or-die raids and more often than not, he would deliver. Telugu Titans captain Rahul Chaudhari was in the form of his life as he ended the season top of the raiding charts with 146 raid points, also becoming the first player to breach the 500-point mark in PKL history.
Verdict: Rahul Chaudhari (Patna Pirates 3-3 Rest of PKL): Rahul Chaudhari is the poster boy of Indian kabaddi and not without a reason. He is clearly the better player despite his team not finishing in the podium spots in any of the seasons.
Dharmaraj Cheralathan vs Amit Hooda
Battle-hardened veteran Dharmaraj Cheralathan, fondly called by his teammates as ‘Anna’ has been the rock at the back for the Patna-based franchise. His captaincy skills were second to none as he led the Pirates to a historic win. Jaipur Pink Panthers’ 20-year-old sensation Amit Hooda took the PKL by storm with his blistering performance at the right corner position with a season high 47 successful tackles.
Verdict: Amit Hooda (Patna Pirates 3-4 Rest of PKL): Amit Hooda wins the match for Rest of PKL as he outscored Chera 47-31 in terms of successful tackles.
Patna Pirates are an outstanding side and the other teams had a hard time matching the 2-time winners. However, the combined powers of the rest of the 7 teams will prove to be more than enough, even for the record breaking Pirates.
It will be extremely interesting to see these teams face off against each other as we all know, in kabaddi, matches aren’t won on paper.
