Patna Pirates snapped Bengal Warriors’ winning streak in Kolkata with a stellar 36-31 win at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Stadium. Jang Kun Lee’s 10 points went in vain as Rohit Kumar guided the Pirates to the top by amassing 11 points.
The first half swung like a pendulum as neither team let the other run away with the match. The home team took an early 3-point lead through Jang Kun Lee and Nitin Tomar to the delight of the home crowd. However, Pardeep Narwal won 2 points for the Pirates as he reduced their deficit to just 1 point (6-7) in the 9th minute.
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Nilesh Shinde and Kun Lee extended the Warriors’ lead to 6 points and reduced the visitors to just 1 man. But, the lone man standing was Rajesh Mondal, who, not only prevented an all out, but won 4 points for his team. By the 18th minute, Bengal Warriors had restored their lead to 5 minutes and once again put the Pirates on the verge of an all out.
The crowd gathered in the stadium would have had a sense of deja vu when substitute Rohit Kumar replicated what Rajesh Mondal did just 4 minutes ago. Winning 4 points for his team, he revived 3 of his teammates as the half edged to a close. The referee blew the whistle to an exhilarating first half with the home team leading by just 1 point.
HT: Bengal Warriors 17-16 Patna Pirates
Patna Pirates turn it around
In a strange turn of events, the first all out of the match was inflicted on the home team through a successful Rohit Kumar raid, which resulted in the visitors taking the lead for the first time. They kept this lead till the end despite the best efforts of the home team.
In the 25th minute, the Warriors had managed to make it a 1-point game after brilliant defending from Girish Maruti Ernak and a successful raid from Nitin Tomar. Undeterred by the crowd’s unwavering support, Pardeep Narwal and Rajesh Mondal helped the Pirates increase their lead to 6. Despite being down to just 2 men, Nilesh Shinde did not flinch as he along with Lee conjured up a super tackle on Rohit Kumar.
Sandeep Narwal completed a second all out on the home team through his raid to make the score 31-23 in his team’s favour. By the 35th minute, Nitin Tomar helped the home team make it a 5-point game. Patna Pirates conjured up a super tackle of their own by tackling Tomar with 3 minutes to go in the match.
The home team ensured they didn’t go down without a fight by winning a flurry of points in the end and reducing Patna to just 2 men. However, Rohit Kumar won a point in the buzzer raid to apply the finishing touches to Patna Pirates’ win.
FT: Bengal Warriors 31-36 Patna Pirates
This win meant Patna Pirates displaced Bengal Warriors at the top of the table. The Warriors would be disappointed to have their winning streak snapped in front of their own fans.
