Patna Pirates put on a show to beat U Mumba and climb to the top of the points table

A stellar display on both sides of the mat helped the Patna Pirates beat U Mumba 43-23. Prashanth Kumar Rai and Sachin combined to score 14 raid points, while Neeraj Kumar and Mohammadreza picked up High 5s for the Pirates. With this victory, Patna ascended to the top of the vivo Pro Kabaddi standings. 

The Pirates were up-and-running early and raced to a 3-0 lead courtesy of a two-point raid from Prashanth Kumar Rai and a successful tackle on Abhishek Singh from their defence. Monu Goyat and Sachin added another pair of points to their team’s total and reduced U Mumba to a solitary man.

Prathap S picked up a bonus and a touch to revive a defender and keep the All Out at bay. However, his efforts only provided a momentary respite as Sachin tagged both U Mumba players before diving across the midline in the subsequent raid to inflict the game’s first All Out.

The Pirates continued their onslaught and added four unanswered points to their total to take a 14-3 lead and leave U Mumba with just three on the mat. U Mumba finally showed some resistance and embarked on a 4-1 run to cut the deficit to eight. But just when U Mumba were clawing their way back into the game, Patna responded with three unanswered points and closed in on another All Out.

In the final raid of the half, Sachin took on a defence of two and managed to eke out an error out from one defender as he stepped out of bounds, rendering him out. The Patna raider then tagged Rinku, but the U Mumba star latched onto his legs and Super Tackled Sachin on his own to help his side avoid the All Out.

Rinku’s magical moment didn’t faze the Pirates, as their defence tackled Prathap S to leave U Mumba with a solitary man on the mat. Goyat tagged Rinku and managed to avoid the same fate as Sachin did in the final raid of the first half to inflict an All Out on U Mumba and give the Pirates a 14-point lead.

The game went back-and-forth for the next few minutes, with the Pirates maintaining their healthy advantage. With just over nine minutes left in the match, U Mumba finally managed to peg the Pirates on the back foot, courtesy of two touch points from Abhishek and an incredible Ankle Hold from Fazel Atrachali.

With Patna down to three players on the mat, U Mumba sensed an opportunity to inflict an All Out and claw their way back into the game. But Super Tackles from Mohammadreza Chiyaneh, Sajin S and substitute Monu ended their hopes of mounting a comeback. The Pirates finished the game with three unanswered points to win by 20 and hand U Mumba their second defeat of the season.

Top Performers

Patna Pirates

Best Raider – Prashanth Kumar Rai (7 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Neeraj Kumar (8 Tackle Points)

U Mumba

Best Raider – Abhishek Singh (8 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Ashish Sangwan (4 Tackle Points)