After a month of relentless competition between 8 teams, we’re finally here. The finals of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League Season 4. This season lived up to the expectations with highly competitive matches and some brilliant performances by players across the 8 teams. After the intriguing group stages and the semis, two teams remain- Patna Pirates and Jaipur Pink Panthers.
The finalists were almost always in the Top 2 throughout the group stage, but a strong run from Telugu Titans pushed Season 1 champions, Jaipur Pink Panthers to the 3rd place, with 8 wins. Reigning champions, Patna Pirates have arguably been the best team this season, registering 10 wins in the process.
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Patna Pirates performance so far
Patna Pirates came face to face against Puneri Paltan in their semi-final clash. The Paltan were dealt a huge blow even before the match got underway, as Ravinder Pahal had to sit out with an injury. The first half was evenly balanced, with strong performances from Pune’s Deepak Niwas Hooda and Patna’s Fazel Atrachali to end the first half at 16-13, in Patna’s favor.
Hooda turned up the heat as he terrorized Patna’s defens in the semi-final, and even excelled in his defensive duties, with strong back holds and vicious tackles. The scores were tied at 17-all when 19-year old Pardeep Narwal announced himself on the match.
Narwal was unstoppable like he has been throughout Season 4, and even the likes to Manjeet Chhillar could not stop him. The score was 32-31 in Patna’s favour with one minute remaining when Hooda and Atrachali combined to inflict an All Out on the Paltan and sealed a thrilling 37-33 victory.
The Pirates have been extremely consistent this season, losing only 4 matches in the group stage. They showed intent right from the start, as they began Season 4 with 5 consecutive wins.
Their best performance was the 35-21 thrashing of Bengal Warriors, but what would really concern them are the humiliating defeats against Dabang Delhi, and Telugu Titans. Patna went down 33-15 to Delhi, but their worst performance was the 25-46 defeat to Telugu Titans right before the knockouts.
19-year old Pardeep Narwal has been exceptional for Patna’s cause this season, registering a massive 115 raid points. No defense has been able to come up with a solution to stop the dangerous youngster who has shown immense composure and maturity for his age.
Narwal took some time to get going in the semis but tore the Paltan apart once he settled down in the second half. Patna will hope their star player rises up to the occasion once more, and lead the Pirates to their second successive Pro Kabaddi title.
While Narwal has completely stolen the limelight, Rajesh Mondal has chipped in with some valuable performances. With 55 raid points to his name this season, Mondal along with Narwal will have a tough battle against the likes of Amit Hooda and Ran Singh.
The Pirates’ defense has been one of the best defenses of Season 4, thanks to the trio of Fazel Atrachali, Dharmaraj Cheralathan, and Kuldeep Singh. The defensive trio will have a monumental task of stopping Jaipur’s in-form attacking trio of Jasvir Singh, Ajay Kumar, and Rajesh Narwal. The Pirates defenders have 44, 29 and 26 tackle points to their credit, thus far.
Bajirao Hodage hasn’t exactly lived up to expectations this season, but all will be forgotten if he performs on this huge occasion. Hodage has managed only 20 tackle points, but his experience will play a big role in today’s nervy encounter.
Jaipur Pink Panthers performance so far
Jaipur Pink Panthers played the in-form Telugu Titans in their semi-final clash. Many tipped Titans to emerge victorious, at their home ground, but it was not to be. The match was closely contested in the first half, with Rahul Chaudhuri emerging as the best player of the half, to give Titans an 11-10 lead at half time.
Jaipur completely outplayed the Titans in the second half, scoring raid and tackle points at will. Rajesh Narwal scored some quick points, to turn the tide in Jaipur’s favor at 26-14. Chaudhuri attempted a comeback, and closed the gap to 9 points at 29-20, but Panthers defense held on to register a thumping 34-24 victory.
Pink Panthers will be high on confidence after their semis clash. Not only did they win the semi, they thrashed a very strong Telugu Titans, at their home in front of a packed Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad.
Jaipur Pink Panthers have been pretty impressive this season and has improved with every match. Panthers started off the season slowly, but they have been consistent since their outing at Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Jaipur managed to stay in the top 2 for a major portion of the season, but a few slip-ups in matches leading to the semis pushed them to a 3rd place finish. Jaipur Pink Panthers’ best performance was against Dabang Delhi, where they demolished the capital side, 51-26.
Jaipur’s attacking trio of Jasvir Singh, Ajay Kumar, and Rajesh Narwal, started off the season strongly but faded away a bit in the last few group matches. However, all that’s changed after an impressive showing in their last match, and the Panthers will hope that they can continue their momentum to the finals. The trio has 69, 60 and 59 raid points, respectively. Jaipur’s attack vs Pirates defense might have a huge say in the outcome of today’s match.
Narwal has been pretty efficient in his defensive duties too, racking up 18 tackle points. His defensive abilities will come in handy against Patna’s dangerous attacking line-up.
Shabeer Bappu has served the role of Jaipur’s fourth raider pretty well, and with loads of experience under his belt, Bappu will be crucial to Jaipur’s cause tonight.
Jaipur’s main man in defense is Amit Hooda, and he’ll need a lot of support from his compatriot, Ran Singh if they are to stop the explosive Pardeep Narwal. Hooda has been one of the best defenders this season with 44 tackle points, tied for first place with Atrachali, and Singh has 27.
Match Prediction
Tonight either of the teams is set to make history, as the first-ever team to win 2 Pro Kabaddi titles- Jaipur was Season 1’s champion and Patna are the defending champion. The teams are packed with superstars and match-winners, and with a fully-packed stadium expected, Patna Pirates vs Jaipur Pink Panthers promises to be a stellar contest.
There will be a lot of mini-battles to watch out for- Hooda and Singh vs Pardeep Narwal, and Jaipur’s attacking trio vs Patna’s defensive trio.
The teams have faced off twice this season, and Jaipur Pink Panthers have won on both occasions.
The match will not be an easy one, with there are so many players capable of inspiring their team to the 2nd Pro Kabaddi title. Pirates have been at their best this season but have found their going tough against tonight’s opponents, Jaipur. Patna Pirates vs Jaipur Pink Panthers is certainly a match worthy to be the title decider, and with world class players on every position on the mat, be ready to be amazed!
Patna Pirates will hold a slight edge over the Jaipur Pink Panthers, but it all comes down to the final 40 minutes of Pro Kabaddi Season 4. Can Pardeep Narwal continue his dream run to lead Patna to their 2nd successive title? Or, will Jaipur Pink Panthers defy the odds once again to make it to the history books?
Squads:
Patna Pirates
Defenders: Dharmraj Cheralathan, Bajirao Hodage, Deepak Dhull, Vijin Thangadurai, Fazel Atrachali, Abolfazel Maghsodlo, Sunny, Sunil Kumar
All-rounders: Sanjay Kumar, Hadi Oshtorak, Kuldeep Singh
Raider: Mahesh Goud, Pardeep Narwal, Rajesh Mondal, Vinoth Paulyas
Jaipur Pink Panthers
Defenders: Wei Yang, Rohit Rana, Amit Hooda,
All-rounders: Rajesh Narwal, Shrikant Tewathia, Ran Singh, Parvesh Bhainswal, Parween Narwal
Raiders: Jasvir Singh, Masayuki Shimokawa, Mahipal Narwal, Shabeer Bappu, Lo Chia Wei, Tushar Patil, Amit Naga
Patna Pirates vs Jaipur Pink Panthers live match information:
Date: 31/07/2016
Time: 21:15 IST
Venue: Gachibowli indoor stadium, Hyderabad
TV Channels: Star Sports 2/Star Sports 2 HD (English), Star Sports 3/Star Sports 3 HD (Hindi)
Live stream: StarSports.com
