Patna Pirates beat UP Yoddhas to climb off last place in Chennai

Patna Pirates ended a difficult run with a 36-28 win over UP Yoddhas on Monday night at the SDAT Multipurpose Indoor Stadium in Chennai, a result that temporarily lifted the three-time champions off the bottom of the Pro Kabaddi League table. The match, the 68th of the season, saw Patna rally from an early deficit to claim an eight-point victory.

The contest opened with UP Yoddhas taking the initiative as Gagan Gowda produced a lively start, recording nine raid points from his early raids and executing a multi-point super raid. UP’s defense also produced moments of control, but Patna’s Ayan Lohchab responded throughout the evening, finishing with 15 raid points and reaching the 300-point milestone in the league. Defender Navdeep registered a High Five for Patna, helping the visitors steady the match as momentum swung in their favour.

UP led in the early exchanges, but Patna erased the gap and held a 16-14 advantage at half time. In the second quarter Patna gained control, forcing the first all out of the match and building a lead they maintained to the final whistle. Patna converted pressure phases into sustained scoring in the latter stages, while UP were unable to recover...