Patna Pirates continued their unbeaten run with a brilliant 36-32 win over Bengaluru Bulls. The home team showed their mettle by overturning a 12-point deficit in just 8 minutes in the second half as they made it 2 wins in 2 at home. Rohit Kumar scored 13 points for the Pirates while Surjeet Narwal, with 15 points, was the lone warriors for Bengaluru Bulls.
The visitors raced to an early 3-0 lead after Surjeet Narwal and debut starter Pawan Kumar were successful in their raids. However, Deepak Narwal won 2 points for his side as the Pirates levelled the score in the 6th minute. Bengaluru Bulls’ Deepak Kumar conjured up a super raid to restore the Bulls’ 3-point advantage, but Rohit Kumar and Pardeep Narwal restored parity by the 10th minute.
Bengaluru Bulls captain Surjeet Narwal took things upon himself and he delivered in the 12th minute by scoring 3 points from his raid to get the home team on the verge of an all out. Mahipal Narwal was tackled in the next raid as last season’s finalists completed the all out and made it 13-7 on the scorecard.
Deepak Narwal reduced the deficit, but Surjeet conjured up yet another super raid – this time winning 4 points for the visitors. The half-time hooter sounded with Bengaluru Bulls leading Patna Pirates 19-11.
HT: Patna Pirates 11-19 Bengaluru Bulls
The Patliputra Sports Complex was left stunned after the home team suffered another all out 2 minutes into the second half when high-flying Surjeet got both the remaining players out in a single raid. The home crowd, however, cheered the team on and the men in green responded by scoring 15 unanswered points to turn the tables and leave the Bulls’ coach Randhir Singh shocked.
In a span of 8 minutes, Patna Pirates scored 15 points without conceding any and in the process, inflicted an all out on the Bengaluru Bulls. Rohit Kumar scored 7 points in that match-turning period as the scorecard read Patna Pirates 28-25 Bengaluru Bulls.
The league leaders played cleverly and did not let the Bulls find a way back into the game despite the best efforts of their captain Surjeet Narwal. With the teams separated by 2 points, Surjeet was tackled by the Pirates and Rajesh Mondal made it a 4-point game with the buzzer raid to play.
The youthful Bulls side were unable to stop the Patna juggernaut as the home team extended their unbeaten streak to 9 games this season.
FT: Patna Pirates 36-32 Bengaluru Bulls
You can catch the highlights of the match, presented by hotstar, below:
