PKL 2021-22: All-round Patna Pirates return with a bang, defeat Tamil Thalaivas 52-24

After
a
long
lay-off
Monu
Goyat
returned
to
action
with
9
point
performance.
Prashanth
Kumar
Rai
(8
raid
points)
and
Sachin
Tanwar
(6
raid
points)
were
also
among
the
Patna
raiders
to
score
points.

While
the
raiders
contributed,
three
defenders
from
Patna
registered
High
5s
as
Shadloui
Chianeh
(6
tackle
points),
Neeraj
Kumar
(6
tackle
points)
and
Sunil
(5
tackle
points)
dominated
the
Tamil
Thalaivas
offence,

The
Pirates
defence,
which
also
included
Sajin
Chandrashekar
often
managed
to
keep
Thalaivas
raiders
Manjeet,
Ajnikya
Pawar,
Athul
MS
and
Bhavani
Rajput
off
the
mat.
Coach
Ram
Mehar
Singh’s
men
had
21
tackle
points
on
the
night
–
Patna’s
best
in
PKL
history.

PKL
2021-22

Fixtures

Although
there
was
a
shoddy
performance
from
the
team,
Sagar
claimed
a
High
5
with
8
tackle
points
for
Tamil
Thalaivas
and
in
the
process
also
earned
the
Orange
Sleeve
for
most
tackle
points
in
the
ongoing
PKL
season
8.

The
result
moved
Pirates
into
second
position
in
the
points
table
just
one
point
shy
off
table-topper
Bengaluru
Bulls.
Thalaivas,
meanwhile,
stayed
in
tenth
following
their
fourth
loss
of
the
season
in
13
matches.
They
are
also
win-less
in
their
last
five.

The
early
minutes
were
a
closely
contested
affair
with
both
defences
looking
strong.
Patna,
on
the
mat
after
a
9-day
break,
looked
fresh
with
raider
Monu
Goyat
and
right
corner
Sunil
back
in
action.

Monu
Goyat
impressed
with
his
raids,
switching
sides
effortlessly,
and
troubling
the
cover
defenders.
He
orchestrated
the
first
ALL
OUT
of
the
match
in
the
13th
minute.

Thalaivas’ defence
didn’t
look
their
usual
best
as
Patna
captain
Prashanth
Rai
picked
raid
points.
Tamil
raiders
Ajinkya
Pawar
and
Manjeet
tried
their
best
to
close
the
gap,
but
the
first
half
ended
21-12
with
Patna
looking
in
complete
control.

Patna
sustained
the
pressure
with
their
left
corner
defender
Mohammadreza
Shadloui
also
getting
in
on
the
act.
He
combined
well
with
cover
defenders
Sajin
C
and
Neeraj
Kumar
to
help
the
Pirates
clinch
another
ALL
OUT
four
minutes
after
the
interval.

Thalaivas
had
no
answers
to
Patna’s
team
game
and
would
have
been
reduced
to
2
men
on
the
mat
had
Sagar
not
pulled
off
a
Super
Tackle
on
Monu
Goyat.
Sagar
clinched
his
High
5
in
the
process,
but
the
team
failed
to
close
the
points
gap.

Patna
inflicted
another
ALL
OUT
with
8
minutes
on
the
clock
as
Mohammadreza
Shadloui
completed
his
High
5.
It
was
total
domination
by
the
three-time
champions
who
raced
to
a
24-point
lead
with
5
minutes
remaining.

Neeraj
Kumar
and
Sunil
secured
their
High
5s
in
the
dying
minutes
as
Patna
clinched
the
win
that
helped
them
move
to
second
on
the
points
table.

(With
inputs
from
PKL
Media)