Pardeep Narwal comes out with a season-best performance as U.P. Yoddha makes it into the semi-final
The Puneri Paltan was up against the challenge of the UP Yoddha in the ‘Eliminator 1’ of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 as both the teams went head-on for a spot into the semifinals.
“Record breaker” Pardeep Narwal was the star of the night as the highest-scoring raider in the history of the league was back in his old colors and scored his season-best of 18 points against the Pune-based franchise to lead UP into the semifinals. Pardeep was on fire throughout the game and never gave the opponents an opportunity to slow him down in the contest.
This was a one-man show from Pardeep as none of the other players for his team other than Surinder Gill and Sumit were able to cross the five-point mark in the contest. Sumit looked lethal in defense as he picked up a Thigh 5 to his name and led the charge against Pune’s raiders.
While the team won the contest tonight they will have to improve on their performance from tonight if they wish to get past the Patna Pirates in the semifinals this Wednesday. The Patna-based franchise has been deadly in the defensive unit and depending on a single raider in the contest could backfire for the Yoddha’s.
On the other hand, Puneri Paltan looked heartbroken after their campaign came to an end at the Eliminator. The team gave their heart out in the contest but were outshined by a single man. Aslam Inamdar was the top scorer for his side, scoring a Super 10 to his name but could not help his side past the finish line. The substitute Akash Shinde was the second-best raider for the side with seven points to his name as Mohit Goyat failed to leave an impact on the game tonight.
The defense looked helpless against Pardeep and could not get their footing into the game. Sombir was the best defender for his side as he had three tackle points to his name, however, the defender had the highest number of unsuccessful tackles for his side in the contest. None of the other defenders looked in control and the defensive unit was all over the place in the majority of both halves.
Aslam Inamdar in action as he attempts to escape the tackle attempt by the UP defenders
The Puneri Paltan dominated the first ten minutes of the contest as they scored consecutive tackle points on their opponents to push them to a man disadvantage. Aslam Inamdar closed the deal for his side as the Pune-based franchise inflicted the first all-out of the game within the first seven minutes to gain a 2-10 advantage in their favor.
UP was not willing to go down so easy as the team fired back strong in the next six minutes and returned the favor with an all-out of their own as the defensive unit led the charge and grounded the opposition raiders down to the mat. Pardeep Narwal then added salt to the wounds as the raider pulled off a five-point raid to push the Paltan on their second all-out within the next three minutes. Hadi Tajik came off as a substitute and pulled off a Super tackle to keep his side in the game, but was shown a yellow card for dangerous play. The Yoddha’s banked on the opportunity and inflicted another all-out on their opponents to hold a 25-17 in their favor heading into the second half of the contest.
The Pune-based franchise tried to fire back with Aslam but was soon clipped down as Pardeep scored his third Super raid of the contest to put his side in a 10-point advantage. Sumit completed his Thigh 5 with an ankle hold on the raider to inflict the third all out on their opponents with ten minutes still remaining in the contest.
Akash tried to get his side in the game with five consecutive points for his side but the mountain of the lead turned out to be the grave for the Paltan as they were unable to overcome the challenge with just five minutes remaining in the contest, as UP Yoddha punched their ticket into the semifinals with a 42-31 win over their opponents.
While Puneri Paltan’s coach Anup Kumar will be disappointed with the outcome tonight, he knows that the team has the ability to come back strong the next season and will like to take the positives from the season. The team has discovered a gem in Aslam Inamdar and he could be a superstar for the side in the upcoming seasons.
Fans will be eagerly waiting for the first semifinals as the neighbors UP Yoddha will he up against Patna Pirates who finished at the top of the table. Pardeep will look to perform well against his former franchise but it will not be an easy task against the best defensive unit in the league.