Monu’s magic lifts Patna Pirates past Bengal Warriors and into second on the points table

A 19-0 run from the Patna Pirates in the second half, aided by Monu Goyat’s magical seven-point raid, saw them beat the Bengal Warriors 44-30 and climb to second on the vivo Pro Kabaddi points table. Monu finished the night with 15 points, while Maninder Singh was the Warriors’ leading scorer with 12 points.

Both teams matched each other point-for-point in the opening few minutes, and the game was evenly poised at 4-4. The Pirates then took a three-point lead courtesy of some good work from the defence but were quickly pegged back to parity, with Sukesh Hegde and Maninder combining to torment the Pirates’ defence.

The Warriors skipper was unstoppable in the first half as he reduced the Pirates to a solitary man on the mat with a two-point raid. Bengal’s defence made no mistake in pinning the raider down to inflict the game’s first All Out and take a six-point lead.

The rest of the first half was tightly contested as the two teams went into the halftime break with the Warriors leading 21-16.

Bengal extended their lead to seven with two unanswered points, but it was all Patna for the next 15 minutes. Monu, Sachin and the Pirates’ defence helped their side embark on a 7-2 run that brought parity to the scoreline. Sachin then went in to raid and took care of the final two players on the mat to help Patna inflict an All Out and take a four-point lead.

The Pirates’ defence and Monu added three more unanswered points to their team’s total before the raider delivered a seven-point Super Raid that saw Patna’s lead balloon to 14 points. The Pirates added two more to their total before Maninder ended Patna’s 19-0 run with a touch point.

Defender Amit Nirmal and substitute Rohit scored a few points in the final couple of minutes of the match for the Warriors. But it made little difference, as the Pirates also added to their total and eventually won the match by 14 points.

Top Performers

Patna Pirates

Best Raider – Monu Goyat (12 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Sunil (4 Tackle Points)

Bengal Warriors

Best Raider – Maninder Singh (12 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Amit Nirwal (5 Tackle Points)