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17th August 2014, Vizag: It was exactly 15 days from today that the Jaipur Pink Panthers had taken on the Patna Pirates at Kolkata, but a lot had changed since then. While Jaipur's tactical moves helped them win seven matches on the trot, Patna's outright brilliance on the field has established them as one of the stronger teams in the League.
Though Jaipur had the last laugh when they met in the City of Joy, Patna were in no mood to amuse today as they looked determined to avenge the last outing.
Rakesh Kumar's men started their assault from the word go and set the Panthers on the back foot every chance they got. Even though they knew that it was their shot at the coveted top spot in the League table, the Panthers were completely taken aback by Patna’s all-round effort. A one-sided affair throughout, it was the Men in Green who won the match by a huge margin.
Jaipur ironically got a taste of their own medicine as the Patna Pirates handed them the biggest defeat of the league so far.
After trading blows in the intial moments of the game, Rakesh Kumar set the perfect trap for the amiling assasin Jasvir Singh as the defence captured him, backing the efforts of the skipper. But the Panthers were quick to return the favour as Prashant Chavan captured Patna's prized posession Rakesh Kumar.
Marking his third raid of the day, Jasvir Singh reduced Patna to a three-man army, but as the raider stepped into Patna’s court again, they not only captured him but also grabbed the points for the Super-Catch. Rakesh Kumar’s experience defeated Rohit Rana’s tackle as Jaipur were left behind without three of their top raiders – Navneet, Prashant and Rohit.
As Jasvir went down to yet another perfect tackle, Patna earned their first set of LONA points. Continuing with Patna’s swansong, raider Ravi Dalal sent two Panthers back into their den.
With the first half closing in, at the 18th minute Patna’s Sandeep Narwal ousted three Jaipur defenders in a single raid, securing the second set of LONA points for his team. At half-time Patna were cruising ahead with 25 points as opposed to Jaipur’s 13.
As the second half began, Sandeep Narwal did an encore as he took down three of Jaipur’s Antis yet again in his very first raid of the half. Jaipur seemed to crumble against the Pirates as Rakesh Kumar tricked Navneet Gautam and Maninder Singh in a tactical raid. Consequently, Patna Pirates earned the third set of LONA points.
By the 25th minute Jaipur were trailing behind by 19 points. Sandeep Narwal, who was having a ball tonight, sent three Panthers back to their den, leaving the Jaipur team toothless yet again. Patna’s name then went down in history as they earned their fourth LONA points, the highest in the league so far.
Leading by 26 points at the 30th minute, Patna eased to victory as Jaipur continued to fail themselves. During Rakesh Kumar’s last raid for the night, the final whistle blew and the Patna Pirates won the game 52-30.
