Pardeep’s late flurry in vain as tight defence helps Bengal Warriors defeat Patna Pirates

Bengal Warriors overcame a late Pardeep Narwal-led Patna Pirates fightback to win 35-26 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Thursday. Maninder Singh scored a Super 10 for Bengal Warriors and Rinku Narwal managed a High 5 while Pardeep led the Patna Pirates attack by scoring 12 of their 18 raid points on the night.

The match started on even terms with ‘Record-Breaker’ Pardeep Narwal scoring for Patna Pirates and Maninder Singh and K. Prapanjan combining for Bengal Warriors to keep the match at 3-3. But Vikas Jaglan’s tackle on Mohammad Nabibakhsh gave Patna Pirates some momentum and they managed to take a four-point lead five minutes into the match.

A successful tackle to send Pardeep to the bench then started a strong Bengal Warriors comeback as they managed to reduce their deficit to one point after the first quarter. They eventually equalised five minutes later through Jeeva Kumar’s tackle on Pardeep and took control of the match. Patna Pirates Super Tackled Nabibakhsh to halt Bengal Warriors’ momentum temporarily, but Prapanjan and Maninder kept the pressure on and reduce Patna Pirates to a solitary man on the mat in the closing seconds of the first period.

Purna Singh escaped Baldev Singh in the last raid of the half as Patna Pirates trailed Bengal Warriors by just one point at half-time with the scores reading 14-15.

The second period saw an early Patna Pirates All-Out which helped Bengal Warriors extend their lead to five points. They were relentless after that as Maninder started scoring freely in raids while Jeeva and Rinku Narwal stood strong against Patna Pirates’ raiders.

Maninder escaped Monu’s Thigh Hold attempt to reduce Patna Pirates down to a solitary man on the mat in the 12^th minute and Nabibakhsh’s Dash helped them inflict another All-Out in just the next raid.

It was Bengal Warriors’ match after that as Maninder claimed his Super 10 in the 15^th minute while reducing Patna Pirates to three men on the mat. But Pardeep managed three successive successful raids, including a two-point raid to send Baldev Singh and Viraj Vishnu Landge to the bench, helping Patna Pirates turn the tides and reduce Bengal Warriors down to three men.

Pardeep reached his Super 10 with three more successful raids in quick succession and Patna Pirates managed to inflict their first and only All-Out of the match on Bengal Warriors in the final minute. However, they were only allowed to add another point to their tally after that as they lost the match by nine points.

Top Performers:

Patna Pirates –

Best Raider – Pardeep Narwal (12 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Vikas Jaglan (2 Tackle Points)

Bengal Warriors –

Best Raider – Maninder Singh (10 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Rinku Narwal (5 Tackle Points)