Riding on an excellent raiding performance by Pardeep Narwal, Patna Pirates beat Bengaluru Bulls 35-32 in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Pardeep Narwal scored 11 points and got ample support from Manjeet and Deepak Narwal.
Jawahar Dagar was a rock at the back for Patna Pirates and attained a high five. Rohit Kumar had a stellar game for Bengaluru and scored 13 points but was let down by his defence who scored just seven tackle points.
Patna Pirates are second in Zone B with 43 points from 14 matches while Bengaluru Bulls remain top of the table with 46 points from 13 matches.
Pardeep Narwal got Patna Pirates to a flying start with a couple of successful raids as they led 4-0 after two minutes. Rohit Kumar opened Bengaluru Bulls’ account in the third minute with a raid. Pardeep Narwal continued to pile on the points as Bengaluru defence was struggling to contain him. After six minutes Patna led 9-3 as Deepak Narwal joined in to add more points.
Patna Pirates inflicted an all out in the 10th minute to open up 16-5 lead. Bengaluru Bulls had no answer to Patna’s raiding prowess as they struggled to get tackle points on board. A two-point raid by Pardeep Narwal in the 18th minute gave Patna 23-10 lead. At the end of the first half Patna Pirates held a comfortable 12-point lead.
Pawan Sehrawat found his raiding touch for Bengaluru as he picked up couple of raid points at the beginning of the second half. But Patna were holding strong as they led 28-16 after 25 minutes of play. Rohit Kumar made a two-point raid in the 28th minute as Bengaluru cut the lead to eight points and trailed 21-29.
Bengaluru Bulls’ defence was having a night to forget as they struggled to find answers to Patna’s raiders. After 35 minutes of play, Bengaluru had just five tackle points.
In the 40th minute Bengaluru Bulls inflicted an all out to cut the deficit to just three points. But Patna Pirates held on to survive any late scare as they won the match 35-32.
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