Monu Goyat helps Patna edge Chennai to stay unbeaten in Ranchi

Zone B leaders Patna Pirates beat Tamil Thalaivas 41-39 at the Harivansh Tana Bhagat Indoor Stadium in Ranchi on Wednesday. Monu Goyat was Patna’s best performer in the match after a Super 10 performance that saw him notch up a total of 12 points.

Both teams opened the scoring in their first raids of the contest. K. Prapanjan got Chennai on the scoreboard, while Pardeep Narwal bagged Patna’s first point of the night. The Thalaivas then opened up a 15-8 lead by enforcing the first All-Out of the match on Patna in 14^th minute after some brilliant raiding by Ajay Thakur and Prapanjan.

The defending champions upped the ante in the final five minutes of the half but Chennai weren’t taking their foot off the pedal either and ensured an 18-13 lead at the break despite being at the receiving end of a tackle in a do-or-die situation to bring an end to the half.

The second period witnessed Patna start positively with a two-point raid by Goyat. It seemed to give the Pirates the impetus they were looking for as they went on to level the game by inflicting an All-Out on Chennai in the 24^th minute after two swift raids by Pardeep.

With momentum on their side, Patna took the lead for the first time in the encounter moments later. A super raid by a confident Goyat in the 29^th minute then completely tilted the match in favour of the hosts as it set up another All-Out on Chennai soon after to extend their lead to 33-26.

Chennai did showcase some fight as they tried to muster a comeback even though a two-point raid by Goyat for Patna changed all that. The Thalaivas did momentarily remove Goyat from the mat with a super tackle in the 34^th minute but Patna’s defence also responded with some strong tackling of their own.

The last five minutes of the game saw Patna trying to kill time with tactical raids and defensive discipline. A two-point raid by Chennai’s substitute Dong Geon Lee even made it a one-point game in the closing stages of the game, however, a successful do-or-die raid by Patna’s Jawahar Dagar helped the reigning champions clinch the victory.

Check out our snapshots from this match here.