The Gujarat Giants fought hard throughout the match but went down to Patna Pirates in their ninth Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 9 fixture at the Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, Pune on Monday, October 31.
Giants all-rounder Prateek Dhaiya bagged 11 points including registering six successful raids while raider Mahendra Rajput picked nine points, however, it wasn’t enough as the Gujarat Giants suffered a 28-34 defeat against Patna Pirates.
The three-time PKL champions Patna Pirates rode on star raider Sachin’s incredible display of 13 points to secure their third win of PKL Season 9.
Sachin picked up a few raid points as the Patna Pirates took the lead at 4-2 in the sixth minute. Rohit Gulia also joined the party and helped the Pirates reduce the Giants to three players on the mat. Soon after, the Patna side inflicted an All Out to take a massive lead at 10-5 in the 10th minute. However, moments later, Parteek Dhaiya pulled off a Super Raid and kept the Giants in the game.
But, Rohit kept picking up raid points as the Pirates attained a stronghold of the match at 15-9. Thereafter, Sachin effected a multi-point raid in the 16th minute to help Patna widen their lead. The Pirates kept raging on and inflicted another All Out just before half-time to lead at 21-13.
Gulia continued to showcase prime form in the second half as the Patna side dominated the match at 23-15. The Pirates' defense unit led by captain Neeraj Kumar backed up their raiders and helped their team to keep moving forward.
Gujarat's Rakesh pulled off a couple of brilliant raids, but he couldn't help his team catch up with Patna. The Giants reduced the Pirates to three members on the mat in the 38th minute, but Sachin carried out a magnificent raid to help his team stay in the lead. The Patna side treaded carefully in the last minute and eventually closed out a comprehensive victory.
With 25 points from nine matches, Gujarat Giants are currently placed sixth in the Pro Kabaddi Season 9 standings and will look to bounce back when they lock horns with Bengal Warriors in their upcoming fixture on Saturday, November 5.
Featured photo: Pro Kabaddi
