U Mumba kept their unbeaten streak in Vivo Pro Kabaddi Season VI going as they beat Haryana Steelers 42-32. Siddharth Desai scored 14 points for U Mumba to lead them to another victory. Desai also became the fastest player to score 50 points in the history of Pro Kabaddi League.  Rohit Baliyan also chipped in with seven points for U Mumba. Monu Goyat finally found some form for Haryana Steelers and got a super 10 but it was a little too late. This was Haryana Steelers’ fourth consecutive defeat of the season.

U Mumba are now top of the table in Zone A whereas Haryana Steelers remain in the fifth spot

This was a match where Haryana Steelers desperately needed a win and they started on a bright note. Monu Goyat looked in good touch as he got a couple of raid points to keep Haryana Steelers neck-to-neck with U Mumba. For the first 15 minutes of the match, Haryana Steelers were in contention to break their losing streak.

In the 16^th minute, Siddharth Desai came up with a brilliant super raid and got 6 points (4 touch + 2 for all out) as U Mumba led 19-13. Desai was in outstanding raiding form for U Mumba and got a super 10 in the first half itself. At the end of the first half, U Mumba led 24-13. Haryana’s defence struggled to get going in the first half and scored just one tackle point.Haryana’s defence woke up in the second half as they scored three tackle points in five minutes and reduced U Mumba to just three men. After 26 minutes, U Mumba led 25-18 and were still in control of the match.

U Mumba forced a super tackle in the 29^th minute to lead 28-19. Haryana Steelers responded with a couple of super tackles of their own to cut down the lead.

With less than five minutes to go, U Mumba led 33-27 when Siddharth Desai came up with a two-point raid to kill all hopes of Haryana’s comeback. U Mumba inflicted another all out in the 39^th minute to extend their lead to 40-29. Monu Goyat came up with a super raid in the dying seconds of the match as they reduced the deficit to nine points

In tomorrow’s matches, Haryana Steelers will take on Dabang Delhi KC whereas Gujarat Fortunegiants will face Puneri Paltan.

Haryana Steelers began their home leg of Vivo Pro Kabaddi Season VI as they beat Gujarat Fortunegiants 32-25. Steelers’ star raider Monu Goyat scored seven points and was ably supported by Kuldeep Singh who chipped in with seven points as well. For Gujarat, Sachin and Prapanjan combined to score 17 points. It was an all round effort from Haryana which propelled them to win the match.

Haryana Steelers were the better team in the first half as they scored raid points at will. With Monu and Kuldeep inflicting bulk of damage on Gujarat. Just before the end of the first half, Haryana Steelers inflicted an all out and led 20-13 at the break.

The fittest player of the match was Kuldeep Singh who looked sharper than all other raiders on the mat.

In the crowd was Olympic Games bronze medalist Yogeshwar Dutt who is also the brand ambassador for Haryana to cheer them on. In front of raucous home crowd, Steelers continued to pile on the pressure on Gujarat Fortunegiants.

Sunil Kumar at the back for Gujarat was a rock and scored five tackle points. In the second half it was once again Haryana Steelers who dominated the proceedings.

The bravest moment of the match came from Prapanjan who scored back to back raids to get Gujarat back in the game.

However it wasn’t enough as Haryana Steelers maintained their composure to win the match 32-25.

In tomorrow’s matches Telugu Titans will play UP Yoddha while Haryana Steelers face U Mumba.

PKL Press Release

Hyderabad: Season 4 of Pro Kabaddi League ended on a high note at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium with reigning champions Patna Pirates recording a 37-29 victory over the formidable Jaipur Pink Panthers in the finale. It was a closely contested 40 minutes of perhaps the finest kabaddi game of the season, as both teams battled for supremacy. Dharmaraj Cheralathan captain of the Patna Pirates, hoisted up the golden trophy amidst spectacular scenes of celebration.

It was Patna’s aggression versus Jaipur’s tactics and in the end, it was Patna Pirates who stamped their authority and emerged as champions of the League, claiming their second trophy.

Patna Pirates’ Pardeep Narwal scored 17 points and was awarded Best Raider while the champions’ Hodi Oshtorak was awarded the Best Defender of the Match respectively. Telugu Titans’ Rahul Chaudhari finished a dream season as the most successful raider with 146 points.

Earlier in the evening, Puneri Paltan beat Telugu Titans in the battle for the third place, with raider Deepak Niwas Hooda scoring 17 points for Puneri Paltan.

As for the exciting final, both teams began strongly but it was Jaipur who struck the first blow as they packed off Pardeep Narwal to the bench in the fourth minute with the score at 2-2. Jaipur Pink Panthers then got three points with a super raid by Rajesh Narwal to lead 6-2 after five minutes. An all out looked imminent but Patna Pirates forced a super tackle in the seventh minute as they trailed 5-6. Pardeep Narwal got into his act as he scored with a raid and bonus to give Patna Pirates 7-6 lead. Pardeep Narwal got another raid point as Patna Pirates led 9-6 after 10 minutes.

Jaipur Pink Panthers were unable to control Pardeep Narwal as he scored with a two-point raid to as they trailed 9-11 after 13 minutes. Patna Pirates inflicted an all out in the 15th minute to lead 16-11. Jasvir Singh got four points in the space of two minutes as Jaipur leveled the game at 16-16 in the 19th minute. Patna Pirates forced a super tackle in the dying seconds of the first half to take a 19-16 lead at the break.

Rajesh Mondal failed to get a point on a do-or-die raid in the 23rd minute as Jaipir Pink Panthers trailed 18-19. Patna Pirates forced a super tackle in the 25th minute to lead 21-18. Pardeep Narwal continued his good form and scored two points as Patna Pirates opened a five-point gap in the 26th minute. Pardeep Narwal attained a super 10 as Patna Pirates led 25-19 after 29 minutes.

Patna Pirates failed to inflict an all out in the 32nd minute as Ajay Kumar got two points with Jaipur Pink Panthers trailing 22-27. Patna Pirates forced an all out in the next minute to lead 31-23 and were on course to win their second successive Pro Kabaddi League title.

With less than five minutes left, Patna Pirates increased the lead to 10 points and led 33-23. Jasvir Singh scored his 10th point of the match in 37th minute as Jaipur Pink Panthers trailed 24-33. Patna Pirates’ strategy in the last few minutes were to play on empty raids and it worked well as their defence didn’t make any silly mistakes. Jaipur Pink Panthers cut the lead to seven points in the 38th minute but Pardeep Narwal scored with a two-point raid to seal a historic triumph for Patna Pirates as they won 37-29.