The game will invoke a lot of fan support as UP Yoddha’s star raider Pardeep Narwal would take on the mat against his former team Patna Pirates.
Follow Us
UP Yoddha, the GMR Group-owned franchise of the Pro Kabaddi League, aims to bounce back with a win as they prepare to face three-time PKL winners Patna Pirates in their second game on Saturday. The Yoddha’s lost narrowly in a nail-biting finish on 22nd December, 2021 to defending champions Bengal Warriors in their opening game of the 8th Pro Kabaddi League, which due to the ongoing pandemic is being played behind closed doors at the Sheraton Grand Bengaluru Whitefield Hotel & Convention Centre.
The two sides have met a total of 8 times till now out of which UP Yoddha has a total of three wins and a lone draw. The game will invoke a lot of fan support and drama as UP Yoddha’s star raider Pardeep Narwal would take on the mat against his former team Patna Pirates. It was with Patna Pirates that Pardeep created the unbroken record of earning the most super points in a single raid in PKL history.
Ahead of the match, Jasveer Singh, head coach, UP Yoddha said, “We are looking forward to our second clash against Patna Pirates. We did not have a start as we expected, but I am glad that the boys did not stop fighting. We did come very close against Bengal but again that’s what makes kabaddi exciting. We have learnt a lot from our last game and we are looking forward to bouncing back to our winning ways against the Pirates.”
The match will be broadcast LIVE on StarSports Network & Hotstar, 7:30 PM (IST) onwards. All the matches are played in Bengaluru. Unlike the previous seasons where teams traveled to different venues, this time the league will be played at a single venue due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier, UP Yoddha narrowly lost to defending champions Bengal Warriors in their opening game of season eight. UP Yoddha, who started on a slow note, put up a valiant fight towards the end, but narrowly missed their chance for a win as they lost 38-33 to the Bengal Warriors. UP Yoddha started at a slow pace giving away points to Bengal Warriors.
The Yoddha lost 12 crucial points in the first 8 minutes but slowly made a comeback through Pardeep Narwal’s streak of intelligent raids. Pardeep who stood tall to his experience had ensured that the Warriors were forced to make mistakes as he earned a total of 8 points for his side. Both sides shared 2 all out points while the first half came to an end with an evenly-poised scoreline of 18-18.
The second half again saw the Warriors start on a strong note. They raced ahead through their raider Nabibakhsh who came for a do-or-die raid in the 23rd minute but ended up going back with a super raid earning 4 vital points. Minutes later UP Yoddha was inflicted with an All-Out and found themselves trailing 29-20 at the 26th minute.
However, the Yoddha’s made a strong comeback through some successful raids and very effective tackles but couldn’t make up the point deficit as the match came to a close finish in the favour of Bengal Warriors.
