Pro Kabaddi 2019 preview: Can Pardeep Narwal revive Patna Pirates' fortunes

In Match 54 of Pro Kabaddi 2019, Gujarat Fortunegiants, who lost all home matches, will take on laggards Patna Pirates at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai on Friday. Gujarat’s elite cover combo of Sunil Kumar and Parvesh Bhainswal have been two of the most consistent defenders in PKL since they came to prominence in season 5. In today’s match they take on the top raider in Pro Kabaddi history. Pardeep has scored 679 of his total 935 raid points in the last three seasons. Gujarat Fortunegiants, despite, some struggles still rank among the top scoring defensive teams PKL 2019. However, Pardeep’s Patna Pirates are among the worst raiding teams. 

Key battle: Sunil-Parvesh vs Pardeep Narwal

As we have seen many times in Pro Kabaddi 2019, half the battle is won against Patna Pirates when Pardeep Narwal is tackled and sent to the bench as they have no one to revive him. Since PKL 2018, Sunil and Parvesh have had the upper hand over him. Pardeep has a 9-6 record against Parvesh and 6-4 record against Sunil in his PKL career. But in PKL 6 he was 3-3 against Parvesh and 0-2 against Sunil. He also has been tackled 6 times by Gujarat’s new left corner Pankaj against whom he has a 9-6 career record.

Top Defenders – Since PKL 5

Top Defenders – Since PKL 5
Defender	Tackle Points	Avg. Tackle Points	Tackle SR	HIGH 5s
Nitesh Kumar	167	3.2	58	12
Fazel Atrachali	164	2.9	60	10
Vishal Bhardwaj	160	3.3	58	12
Sunil Kumar	158	2.7	56	9
Parvesh Bhainswal	157	2.7	59	9

 

Top Raiders – Since PKL 5

Top Raiders – Since PKL 5
Raider	Raid Points	Avg. Raid Points	Raid SR	SUPER 10s
Pardeep Narwal	679	12.1	60	38
Maninder Singh	464	8.9	53	21
Ajay Thakur	456	8.6	50	19

 

 Gujarat Fortunegiants vs Patna Pirates head to head
 
Head to head, Gujarat Fortunegiants have an advantage as they won four out of five matches.

Match No	Gujarat Fortunegiants	Patna Pirates	Result
PKL 6, Match 129	37	29	Gujarat Fortunegiants won by 8 points
PKL 6, Match 94	45	27	Gujarat Fortunegiants won by 18 points
PKL 5, Final	38	55	Patna Pirates won by 17 points
PKL 5, Match 115	33	29	Gujarat Fortunegiants won by 4 points
PKL 5, Match 101	30	29	Gujarat Fortunegiants won by 1 point

 

 Gujarat Fortunegiants vs Patna Pirates live streaming details
 
Date and Day: August 23, 2019, Friday.
 
Venue: Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai
 
Time: 7:30 pm IST
 
The Gujarat Fortunegiants vs Patna Pirates will be broadcast live on Star Sports 2 HD, Star Sports 2 with English Commentary and Star Sports 1 Hindi HD and Star Sports 1 Hindi with Hindi Commentary. The live streaming of Gujarat vs Patna match will be available on Hotstar in various languages.