Kabaddi
PKL 2021: Defending champions Bengal Warriors fall to their third successive defeat
Maninder Singh's completed his third consecutive Super 10 as the Warriors fell to their third consecutive loss
Patna Pirates defeated the defending champions Bengal Warriors by 14 points in match number 24 of PKL 2021. The most decorated franchise of the Pro Kabaddi League registered their third win of the season with a scoreline of 44-30. Captain Maninder Singh's diligent Super 10 once again failed to turn results in the favour of Bengal.
As it happened........
Rishank Devadiga got his first shot at the Pro Kabaddi League season eight. Coach BC Ramesh finally gave the star raider his much-awaited debut start for the Bengal Warriors franchise. It was necessary to bring Rishank to rest Iranian all-rounder Mohammad Nabibakhsh. Ramesh also gave a surprising start to defender Amit Narwal who was also playing his first game for the franchise. On the other hand, Ram Mehar Singh retained the same Starting 7 to keep the winning combination.
Patna kick-started the first half with balanced contributions from defence and offence. Meanwhile, Bengal's all four points were scored by their captain Maninder Singh. Maninder continued to fight alone for Warriors suppressing the solo mistakes of their defenders.
Bengal Warriors defence took around ten minutes to attempt the first successful tackle of the match. And then an early all-out was forced on Patna Pirates through a resurgence of Bengal defence. It was followed by the Super 10 milestone achieved by Maninder Singh.
The second half was commenced by the revolt of Patna led by Monu Goyat who completed 500 raid points of his PKL career. The defenders of both teams owned the second half action. Sachin Tanwar starred in all-out conceded by the Warriors which brought Patna in a driving position. It was done and dusted game in favour of Patna after a magical seven-point raid from Monu Goyat consisting of five touchpoints and two all-out points in a single raid. Pirates scored whopping 17 points in a timespan where Bengal broke the deadlock of 25.
Takeaways from the clash
Monu Goyat's all-round efforts played a vital role in this electrifying triumph over Bengal Warriors. Monu scored a sublime total of 15 points including 12 raid points and three tackle points. Interestingly Monu's 5 out of 7 touch points came in a single raid showcasing a vintage herald.
This fixture was marked as the hat-trick of Super 10s scored by Maninder Singh in a losing cause. Left cover Amit Narwal scored a stellar High 5 on his debut game for the Kolkata-based franchise. Warriors monitored their lead for quite a time but lost control of the match in decisive moments.
