Patna Pirates upset title holders Jaipur Pink Panthers

Captain Rakesh Kumar and young Sandeep Narwal helped Patna Pirates upset title holders Jaipur Pink Panthers 29-23 to send them hurtling to their third loss in a row. For Patna it was their first win in the league against their rivals who had beaten them thrice last year. The tie was fought very closely right from the word go and Jaipur led by 11-10. The score stood at 20-20 in the 36th minute which depicts the closeness of the contest. Patna then tilted the scales in their favour by inflicting the only all out of the match.

Jaipyr drew first blood with Kuldeep who had a good game getting Aman Kumar. Patna came back to go ahead 4-2 through Ravi Dalal, Sandeep and Rakesh registering his first point. He went on to tally seven touch points and with one tackle to his credit contributed significantly towards the win. The lead kept changing hands till the break. Deepak Narwal who replaced Aman scored a couple of points while Jaipur’s main hatchet man Jasvir kept them in the fray along with Sonu Narwal who had one two-point raid. Jasvir bore the burden of the attack till then with nine raids.

Jaipur introduced their Iranian recruit for a brief while but the lanky raider looked off colour. Patna defender Sunil had him once with a double ankle hold. But Rajesh Narwal’s super raid sent Jaipur ahead 15-12.Ptna levelled 17-17 substitute Deepak Narwal and Rakesh getting 2 and I touch points. The scores were level 20-20 after the teams kept ticking the scoreboard. The dismissal of Jasvir at that stage and the revival of Rakesh gave Patna the opportunity they were waiting for which they accepted with glee. Sandeep and Rakesh played carefully with Jaipur needing to grab the initiative. Rakesh quelled their hopes by carrying out the last four raids.

MATCH 15 – JAIPUR PINK PANTHERS VS PATNA PIRATES