Patna routs Gujarat to complete hat-trick

Patna Pirates made it a hat-trick of titles after its convincing 55-38 win over Zone A toppers Gujarat Fortunegiants in the final of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 here on Saturday. Outstanding performances from Pardeep Narwal and Monu Goyat made sure the defending champion clinched its third consecutive title in the history of PKL.   

All roads in the city led to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for the grand finale. A crowd of 7500 witnessed the pulsating clash between a defending powerhouse (Gujarat Fortunegiants) and a raiding strike force (Patna Pirates).

There was nothing much to separate between the finalists at the end of 20 minutes as the defending  champion led by a slender margin of three points (21-18) The men from Ahmedabad raced off to a terrific start inflicting the first all out on the Pirates in just the fifth minute courtesy of a ‘Super raid’ by Rakesh Narwal in the fourth raid of the game. 

The defensive unit of the Fortunegiants managed to keep the raiding superstar Pardeep Narwal at bay until the 15th minute after which he produced an exciting five-point raid to ensure his team’s first all out. Gujarat Fortunegiants’ experienced raider Sukesh Hegde found a place in starting seven after having to sit out on the bench for the previous match against Bengal Warriors. 

The Pirates registered an early all out in just the fourth minute of the second half. It widened the lead with another all out in the 32nd minute of the game. Fazel Atrachali and Abozar Mighani proved to be ineffective against the raiding prowess of Pardeep Narwal, snapping up only two points together. The fourth all out by Patna diminished any hopes for Gujarat to come back into the contest.