Pardeep Narwal's season-best effort went in vain as his team UP Yoddhas went down 48-41 to Patna Pirates, who continued their winning run, in Pro Kabaddi League Season 10 at the Noida Indoor Stadium on Monday.
The game began on a cagey note, as only five points were scored in the opening five minutes.
The Iranian defender is playing his second season, expressed that his self-confidence has risen in this edition
Patna Pirates have won the trophy in 2017 edition and the coach is a little overwhelmed to see the team’s combination.
The only positive for Delhi was the performance of Neeraj Narwal who secured a Super 10 in the closing stages to cap off a rare start.
With Bengaluru securing a spot in the playoff, the last spot will now be closely fought between UP Yoddha and Telugu Titans.
Despite the loss, Patna moved a place ahead in the team points-table to be at the ninth spot with 39 points, keeping their playoffs hopes alive.
Pardeep Narwal became the first player to cross 1,000 raid points in Pro Kabaddi League history. His 26 points exposed the problems in the Tamil Thalaivas side who looked answerless, especially in defence, against a bottom-placed Patna unit.
Pawan Sehrawat scored a massive 23 points for the Bulls but the defending champions had to struggle for their victory largely due to Siddharth Desai's raiding prowess at the other end for the Titans.
Pawan Sehrawat, with another Super 10 (17 raid points), was once again the star for the defending champions in a match that saw Patna lead for a long time.
