Patna Pirates won their first match of the season on Friday, beating Dabang Delhi 37-33, to hand the defending champions their first defeat of Pro Kabaddi 2022, at the Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru.
Earlier in the day, U Mumba came up with a 32-31 win over the Haryana Steelers, and Puneri Paltan beat the Bengal Warriors 27-25.
Despite Naveen Kumar getting yet another Super 10 – scoring 13 points – the Pirates’ return to form helped them get their first win of the season, after a draw and four consecutive defeats.
Rohit Gulia scored 13 points for the Pirates, while Sachin chipped in with nine.
Neeraj Kumar also made a strong show in defence with four points, and Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh scored three tackle points.
In the second match of the day, Puneri Paltan captain Fazel Atrachali flexed his muscles to pick up a High 5, with six tackle points, to help his team quell the threat of Maninder Singh in the Bengal Warriors’ attack.
Aslam Inamdar chipped in with five raid points in a match that was decided by the defenders.
In the opening match of the night, it was again a defender who starred, as the Mumbai skipper Surender Singh scored six tacke points to help his team get their third win of the season.