Patna Pirates take on U.P. Yoddha with sights firmly set on the Playoffs

Panchkula plays host to a Zone B clash where Patna Pirates take on U.P. Yoddha for the final time this season at the Tau Devilal Sports Complex on Sunday. Patna Pirates will look to close the gap on Bengaluru Bulls, who occupy the top spot in Zone B, to seven points with a victory in this game. With no team having secured qualification for the Playoffs from Zone B yet, a win here is extremely important for both of these sides.

The teams have met twice this season with Patna Pirates emerging victorious on both occasions, having scored an identical 43 points in both their wins. While the first win was a narrow two-point victory, the second win had a slightly bigger margin. Pardeep Narwal and Shrikant Jadhav starred for their respective sides in that match, managing 14 raid points and 17 raid points respectively.

Match 115 (Zone B): Patna Pirates vs U.P. Yoddha

Head-to-head: Patna Pirates 3-1 U.P. Yoddha. 1 tie

Form Guide:

Patna Pirates	RESULT(W-T-L)	POINTS SCORED	POINTS CONCEDED
Vs. Telugu Titans	LOST	36	41
Vs. Puneri Paltan	WON	53	36
Vs. Gujarat Fortunegiants	LOST	27	45
Vs. Tamil Thalaivas	TIED	35	35
Vs. Bengaluru Bulls	WON	35	32
TOTAL	2-1-2	186	189

Stats from the last five matches –

Average Points Scored – 37.2

Average Points Conceded – 37.8

Best Raider – Pardeep Narwal

Best Defender – Jaideep

U.P. Yoddha	RESULT(W-T-L)	POINTS SCORED	POINTS CONCEDED
Vs. Tamil Thalaivas	TIED	25	25
Vs. Telugu Titans	WON	27	20
Vs. Haryana Steelers	WON	30	29
Vs. Bengaluru Bulls	LOST	27	37
Vs. Gujarat Fortunegiants	LOST	32	37
TOTAL	2-1-2	141	148

Stats from the last five matches –

Average Points Scored – 28.2

Average Points Conceded – 29.6

Best Raider – Shrikant Jadhav

Best Defender – Nitesh Kumar

The big battle

Pardeep Narwal vs Nitesh Kumar

Pardeep Narwal has been the leader of the Patna Pirates’ raiding department once again this season. With 197 raid points in 17 games, Narwal is currently the second-highest scoring raider in the league. He averages more than a Super 10 a game and is on top of the league in terms of average raid points with 11.59 per match. Narwal has scored 13 Super 10s in the season so far, the most in the league, including four in his last five matches.

Nitesh Kumar has had a splendid campaign for U.P. Yoddha in Season 6. The Right Corner currently ranks second in the league in terms of tackle points with 72 from 19 matches. Kumar ranks first in average tackle points as well with 3.79 tackle points per match. Having inflicted six Super Tackles so far, Kumar is fourth in the league in that category. Kumar has been one of the league’s best Corners thus far and his side will hope he can continue delivering stellar performances in the closing games of the league stage as well.

The battle between Narwal and Kumar will be an intriguing one as the Left Raider goes up against the Right Corner, who managed a High 5 in the team’s last game against Tamil Thalaivas.

Key Khiladi -

Jaideep – Patna Pirates

Jaideep has had an outstanding campaign at the Left Corner position for Patna Pirates. The second-highest scoring Left Corner in the Season 6, Jaideep has managed 55 tackle points in 18 games. Jaideep has scored four High 5s this season and, another strong performance from him will be imperative for Patna Pirates when they will be up against a strong raiding trio of Shrikant Jadhav, Rishank Devadiga and Prashanth Kumar Rai, all of whom can take the game away from the opposition on their day.

Shrikant Jadhav – U.P. Yoddha

Shrikant Jadhav started the season off as a backup raider for U.P. Yoddha but is currently their leading point scorer with 113 points from 19 games. Not only has he shared the responsibility of being a lead raider with Prashanth Kumar Rai, but he has also been brilliant for the team in Do-or-Die raids, totaling 32 raid points from them; the third-highest tally in the league.