Pro Kabaddi: Young guns help Patna Pirates plunder PKL heavyweights, dream of title again

Patna Pirates, the three-time Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) champion, has shaken off its past few seasons of misfortune as it comfortably moved into the playoffs of Season 11.

In the 22 league matches in season 11, the Pirates have accumulated 525 raid points, the best in the tournament, from 404 successful raids at an average of 23.86 points per match. They are also leading in all the team raiding matrixes and have inflicted a whopping 25 all-outs.

The team’s success can be primarily attributed to its raiding unit. With largely unknown raiders, Patna has taken PKL 11 by storm. The auction saw the side’s former skipper and talisman Sachin Tanwar moving to Tamil Thalaivas. The franchise did not do much to make up for the loss of seasoned names in its ranks as the management had other plans, trusting their fortunes with relative newbies instead.

“We have a very balanced squad. We don’t have big names but it is a chance for these boys to make a name for themselves. All the big players were newcomers at one point. You need a platform to showcase your potential and we believe this unit can go a long way,” coach Narender Redhu told Sportstar.

Raiding Supremacy

The Pirates setup has been a raiding nursery over the years, producing and cushioning talents like Pardeep Narwal (who recently became the first and only man to score 1800 raid points in PKL history), Monu Goyat and Sachin. 

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The raiding duo of Devank Dalal — playing his third PKL season — and Ayan Lohchab — featuring in his maiden campaign — prove that the baton has passed on to capable successors. 

In the league stage, they have scored 280 and 165 raid points respectively, in 22 matches. Together, this pair has accounted for nearly 85 percent of their team’s total raid points. 

But the raiding arsenal doesn’t stop there. Devank and Ayan have found good support from Sandeep Dhukhan Kumar and Sudhakar Maruthamuthu (who the Pirates retained ahead of the PKL auction before this season). 

In a system that often picks star-studded outfits as the way to go, the Pirates with their unheralded unit have gone against the grain with some astounding results. 

However, this approach is not without its fault lines. 

The pack is still undecided on a dedicated raider for do-or-die raids ((the third raid after two unsuccessful raids where the raider must pick up a point or is deemed out), a responsibility earlier handled by Sachin when he was with the side. Both Ayan and Devank have faced the heat of these raids, but haven’t been consistent or concretely made that role their own. The management leaving that bit to chance is a fairly surprising situation facing a side that’s otherwise quite clinical. 

Change of guard

Following Sachin’s departure, the Pirates scrambled to find a new leader and appointed Shubham Shinde, their most expensive auction purchase at Rs. 70 lakh.

However, the team struggled with both defensive stability and game management. After the Hyderabad leg, the proverbial armband was transferred to defensive all-rounder Ankit Jaglan. This mid-season change, which proved successful last season, brought greater organisation to the Pirates, particularly in defence. Freed from the captaincy, Shubham flourished at the right-corner.

The move also unlocked Ankit’s full potential, establishing him as one of the league’s top defenders with 70 tackle points, including eight Super Tackles (tackles made with three or fewer defenders on the mat). During the league phase, the Pirates’ defensive unit amassed 243 raid points in 22 matches, ranking fourth in the league.

Ankit validated the faith shown by coach Redhu, who has been at the helm of the Army Kabaddi team for almost a decade, when he chose to the retain the player despite his underwhelming numbers last season. 

“Ankit showcased his talent in the Army tournaments. He is a natural leader and can bring the best out of them. He treats them (the youngsters) as brothers and also respects the experienced players. His and Shubham’s bond elevated our defence,” added Pirates’ coach.

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One step forward

Finishing in the top two helps teams directly enter the semifinal. The Pirates, who looked set to follow suit, fell short and were placed alongside U Mumba in the second Eliminator on Thursday. It was an unusually off colour night for Devank with the Pirates’ top raider struggling a bit in his eight-point haul from 17 attempts. 

But that’s where having an equality adept number two saves your life, and in this case, keeps you alive in the tournament. 

Ayan had one of his best games in an already charmed season, operating in raiding and defence to help the Pirates secure a spot in the semifinals with a 31-23 win over U Mumba. 

Ayan managed 10 points in total, with two of those coming in defence. Patna played with three people on the mat for a considerable part of this game but it was Ayan who kept poking and prodding at the U Mumba strategy sheet. 

If one keeps the numbers aside, Ayan has often looked like the more technically adept raider. He is agile and can move both ways. He has just a tad bit more speed sometimes than Devank which makes him great for do-or-die raids.

However, what sets them apart in many ways is quite simply their attitude. Devank is all about business. He is happy to go in, do the job asked of him and run back up. Ayan has learnt to attach a certain swagger to his operations. He has harnessed the power to intimidate oppositions but not hesitating from venturing deep into defensive formations, trusting his speed to make his way. The audacity flummoxes teams most times, his skills handle the rest. 

Pirates had lost both their league games against U Mumba so there was every reason to feel some pressure. But coach Redhu, as many successful ones do, took the planning pressure off his players. 

“ Khul ke khelo (play with freedom)- this is all coach sir said,” Ayan revealed at the end of the game. “We came in on the back of two underwhelming games. But the coach believed in us and said just play freely. And we did. We gave it our all.”

Ayan and the Pirates defence kept their Mumba counterparts quiet for most part and did not allow raiders the space to run away with the game. They controlled momentum throughout which will come in handy against their opponents in the semifinal – Dabang Delhi. 

Delhi and Patna are fairly evenly matched as competitors. There’s a raiding duo on either side that is equally well tuned and on song. There is defensive brilliance to fall back on. But more importantly, there’s that youthful exuberance to show veterans of the game that the young ones can do the job just as well which promises to make this knockout one for the ages. 

If the Pirates get past this hurdle and make the final, Redhu’s prophetic words from the start of the season could well come true. 

“Many people thought we were weak after the auction. But we know what we’re doing with our squad and the talents coming in. Give us a chance and we’ll change the face of this tournament.” 

Grab your popcorn. We’re in for a blockbuster.