With three consecutive titles, Patna Pirates is without a doubt the most successful team in the Pro Kabaddi League. If you are an IPL fan, then think of Patna as a team like Chennai Super Kings or Mumbai Indians. The Pirates have dominated the league like no other team. In fact, not a single side has managed to win more than one championship, let alone three. So it comes as no surprise that the team from Bihar holds some amazing records which prove that they are the best team in the league’s history. Here are seven such Patna Pirates Records:
7Most Expensive Players in 2014 Auction
The Pirates were hungry for success right from the start. And they proved it by dominating the first ever Pro Kabaddi League auction in 2014. With all eight teams looking to form a formidable team for the inaugural season, Patna won the bidding war for the most expensive player.
They signed Rakesh Kumar, multiple time gold medallist at the Asian Games and the World Cup with the Indian team, for ₹12.8 lakh. Although the raider failed to live up to his price tag in the first season, his name will always be in the history books as the most expensive player of the first auction.
The Pirates also bought Korean all-rounder Tae Deok Eom for ₹7 lakh, making him the most expensive overseas player in the first-ever PKL.
6Highest Score Difference in the Group Stages
This stat will prove just how dominant the Pirates were during their run of three consecutive titles. During the 3rd season of PKL, Patna dominated the double round robin format with 10 wins and 2 ties from 14 games. And although they finished 2nd in the table, Patna had the score difference of 104!
Just to let you know how dominant Patna was – No other team has finished the group stages with such a score difference in the eight-team double round robin format. Only Jaipur, with their score difference of 100 during the inaugural season has finished in triple digits. Patna’s dominance continued for the rest of the tournament as well, as they finished with their first title – first of many!
5Five Consecutive SF/Playoffs Appearances
There is CSK in the Indian Premier League who have made a habit of qualifying for the playoffs. And Patna Pirates are no different in the Pro Kabaddi League. The Pirates have qualified for the semi-finals or playoffs for five consecutive seasons, season 1 to season 5. No other team has managed more than three!
Patna qualified for the semi-finals in the first two seasons but failed to make it to the final of the league. But they more than made up for it with two consecutive championships in season 3 and season 4. In season 5, Patna finished second in Zone B to qualify for the playoffs and went on to win the title.
The 2018 season was the first time Patna failed to qualify for the playoffs, finishing just two points behind the third place team in Zone B.
4Raid Kings
With the most successful raider in the history of the Pro Kabaddi League in their side, Pardeep Narwal, Patna has simply bossed the attacking stats. In the short history of the league, Patna has the most raid points, most successful raids, and most super raids – Talk about domination!
The Pirates have accumulated 2265 raid points in six seasons in 1775 successful raids – Both best in the league! The team also has 77 super raids to their name, 20 more than the second-place Puneri Paltan.
3Most Points
The team that wins three consecutive titles has to be the most dominant team on the mat. And that is exactly the case with Patna Pirates. The team from Bihar has scored more points than any other team in the history of Pro Kabaddi League.
Patna has scored 3883 points in six seasons so far in 112 matches. They are more than 300 points ahead of the second-place U Mumba. In the fifth season, Patna crossed the 1000 mark in the total points scored, helping them to the top spot. Team captain Pardeep Narwal has played a crucial role in Patna’s record-breaking point tally.
2Biggest Win in the Final
The Pirates were hell-bent on winning the third consecutive title in 2017. And they had to take a longer route to the final, playing three playoff games. But once they got there, Patna absolutely crushed Gujarat Fortune Giants, defeating the new-comers 55-38.
It was the biggest victory in the final of the Pro Kabaddi League – with a score difference of 17. Patna beat Jaipur’s record of 11 score difference from the inaugural season.
1Three-Peat!
January 2016, July 2016 and 2017! Patna Pirates were unstoppable for three consecutive seasons, winning titles for fun. They became the only team to defend the title successfully with their second title and to this date are the only team with more than one title.
Patna’s record of three consecutive titles is an incredible one to say the least and it doesn’t look like any team will be able to match it anytime soon.
