Pro Kabaddi 2018: Patna Pirates pull-off thrilling win over UP Yoddha
Chennai, Oct 11: Defending champions Patna Pirates edged out UP Yoddha 43-41 in a thrilling match of the Vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 6.
Pardeep Narwal produced a strong raiding performance as he scored 16 points to lead Patna to victory. For UP Yoddha, Shrikant Jadhav scored 12 points but it was a case of so near yet so far. The difference between the teams was also their defensive strength. While Patna Pirates scored 11 tackle points, UP Yoddha got just seven points.
UP Yoddha got out of the blocks quicker than their opposition as they led 4-1 after two minutes. Pardeep Narwal scored his first point of the match in third minute as Patna Pirates trailed 3-5. Rishank Devadiga got a two-point raid as UP Yoddhas were looking in fine form. Narwal then got three quick points in two raids as Patna cut the deficit to one point after 9 minutes.
In the next 10 minutes, the pendulum swung Patna Pirates' way as they first time led in the match. But UP Yoddha came back to gain lead once again. In the 14th minute, UP Yoddha inflicted the first all out of the match to lead 20-15. In the last five minutes of the first half, it was all Patna Pirates as they scored six consecutive points to lead 21-20 at the break.
Patna Pirates began the second half with a bang as they inflicted an all out to lead 24-21. The defence of Patna Pirates was marshaled well by Jawahar. Devadiga and Shrikant Jadhav handled the raiding duties for UP Yoddha as they continued to chip the Patna Pirates lead.
The last five minutes of the match were evenly contested as both teams traded raid and tackle points. Narwal scored with a two-point raid in the 36th minute as Patna Pirates led 39-37.
Jadhav achieved a super 10 in the 38th minute as UP Yoddha trailed 38-39.
Jadhav made another successful raid in the last minute and UP were awarded a technical point as they trailed 41-42. But Patna Pirates scored a tackle point in the dying seconds to win the match.
In tomorrow's matches, Haryana Steelers will face Gujarat Fortune Giants whereas Puneri Paltan will play Dabang Delhi KC.
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Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.
Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.
