Patna Pirates and U Mumba notched up dominating wins over Jaipur Pink Panthers and Bengal Warriors, respectively to show their title credentials. The final day of the Jaipur leg saw the Pirates book a semi-final spot while the defending champions moved up to 3rd spot in the table.
U Mumba began the day with their 5th consecutive win, this time with a 30-17 score against high-flying Bengal Warriors. Fazel Atrachali gave a masterclass in defending with 6 points while Rishank Devadiga (6) and Anup Kumar (5) taking care of the raids. Only Nilesh Shinde could hold his head high after the game as the Warriors were humbled in Jaipur.
The U Mumba captain started the proceedings in the very first raid and Fazel and Rishank chipped in to help the defending champions make it 4-0 within 3 minutes. Despite Rakesh Kumar getting out in a super tackle, U Mumba completed the all out in the 7th minute by stopping Shyam Kumar Sah to make it 10-2 in their favour.
The Warriors put a stop the slide and went toe to toe with the reigning champions till the end of the half as the two teams were separated by 11 points at the break.
HT: Bengal Warriors 6-17 U Mumba
Jang Kun Lee and Bajirao Hodage conjured up a super tackle by pushing Rakesh Kumar off the court in the 25th minute, but Anup got them both out to inflict the second all out of the match in the next minute as U Mumba led by 15 points (24-9). Bengal Warriors were left shell shocked with this dominating performance by the Mumbai-based franchise.
Nilesh Shinde helped the Warriors win 3 straight points by the 30th minute, but the defending champions restored their 15-point advantage soon after. The second-placed team reduced U Mumba to 3 men on the court by the 37th minute, but they could not complete the all out.
Bhaskaran Edachery’s team stood firm and closed out the match with a dominating 13-point win. They will now travel to Delhi to face Bengaluru Bulls, while Bengal Warriors will look to bounce back against home team Dabang Delhi.
FT: Bengal Warriors 17-30 U Mumba
You can catch the highlights of the match, presented by hotstar, below:
Patna Pirates seal semi-final berth
Patna Pirates humiliated Jaipur Pink Panthers 47-24 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium to ensure a semi-final spot with two legs to go in the tournament. Rajesh Narwal was the lone warrior for the home team with 10 points, but the star of the show was Rohit Kumar, who amassed a mammoth 14 points. Sandeep Narwal and Hadi Oshtorak supported him well as the Pirates sealed a spot in the semi-final.
The visitors stunned the crowd by racing to a 10-point lead in 6 minutes and in the process inflicting an all out on the home team. Pirates’ raider Rohit Kumar, with 5 points, was the architect behind the all out on the Pink Panthers.
Jaipur got off the mark in the 7th minute through a successful raid by Ran Singh, however, that didn’t stop the team from Patna as the Pirates completed yet another all out on the home team in the 11th minute. Good defending coupled with daring raids by Pardeep Narwal and Sandeep Narwal resulted in a second all out on the team from Jaipur.
Little joy came the home team’s way and a 3-point run was as good as it got for the team in Pink. But, the visitors outscored Jaipur 8-1 in the final stages of the half to get the home team on the verge of another all out, but the half time buzzer saved Kasinathan Bhaskaran’s men.
HT: Jaipur Pink Panthers 5-27 Patna Pirates
The first minute of the second half saw the visitors complete another all out after C. Arun was stopped in the Patna half to make the score 30-5 in their favour. The Pirates continued their dominance and got the home team all out for the FOURTH time in the 27th minute. Sandeep Narwal and Hadi Oshtorak’s splendid defending and a 10-1 run for the Pirates was the reason behind the Pink Panthers’ fourth all out of the match.
Rajesh Narwal took the match in his hands in the final 12 minutes. The all-rounder was the key as the Season 1 winners avoided a humiliation by scoring 17 points till the end of the match and in the process, completed an all out on the league leaders.
The 25-year-old gave the home crowd something to cheer as he helped the team get an all out back in the 36th minute. The Pink Panthers closed the game with a 17-7 run as they ended the home leg with a 23-point loss. With this win, Patna Pirates became the first team to secure a spot in the semi-final.
FT: Jaipur Pink Panthers 24-47 Patna Pirates
The league now moves to Delhi for the penultimate leg of Season 3 as Jaipur Pink Panthers’ semi-final hopes hang by a thread.
You can catch the highlights of the match, presented by hotstar, below:
