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Defending champions Patna Pirates played out a thrilling 40-40 tie against the Bengaluru Bulls as the Pardeep Narwal-led side kept their hopes alive for a place in the playoffs at the Tau Devilal Sports Complex in Panchkula, Haryana.
On a day that witnessed both teams firing on all cylinders, the two skippers were the standouts in the game as Pardeep Narwal (17 points) and Rohit Kumar (16 points) ensured that their opposition did not run away with the contest at any stage in the game.
At the beginning of the first half, the Bulls seemed a little off color but soon bounced back courtesy of a gutsy showing by young left cover Mahender Singh, who picked up a 'High-5' inside the first half as the Bulls raced away to a 20-11 lead going into the break.
With the Pirates desperately needing a win to avoid complicating their qualification scenarios, a herculean effort from Pardeep Narwal was on the cards which was what transpired as the Patna skipper picked five points in a row to inflict an all-out on the Bulls early in the second half.
With ten minutes to go on the clock and the score tied on 29-29, Rohit Kumar's champion effort to pick up seven straight points, including a super raid kept the Bulls in the hunt before the Pirates inflicted a second all-out on the Bulls but only enjoyed a one-point lead.
As the match oscillated with both sides sneaking a one-point lead alternatively, the match came down to the last minute as Vikas Jaglan emerged with the 'hero' tag, picking up two points in Patna's penultimate raid before pulling off an ankle hold on Pawan Sehrawat's Do-or-Die raid as the two teams finished on a stalemate, with Patna emerging as the happier team with the tie.
Patna Pirates
Pardeep Narwal - 9/10
The Patna skipper was the only shining light for the Pirates in the first half as he picked up five raid points and only came back stronger in the second half as his fine form kept the pressure on the Bulls' defenders and finished with 17 raid points.
Vikas Jaglan - 8/10
The all-rounder came to life right at the final minute when he emerged as the hero with two raid points and produced an ankle raid on Pawan Sehrawat that equalized the scores at the final whistle. Jaglan finished with four points from the game.
Deepak Narwal - 5.5/10
Deepak Narwal did not raid too much in the game but managed to pick up a bonus while also effecting an important ankle hold on Pawan Sehrawat.
Manjeet - 5/10
Manjeet used his height to good effect to pinch two running hand touches and also played a big role in supporting his defenders.
Vikas Kale - 4.5/10
The right cover defender did pick up three points with some clinical dashes but he appeared a little too over-enthusiastic in his tackles and ended up gifting many free points to the Bulls.
Jaideep - 3/10
The left corner had a horror outing as he failed to produce the goods and was often caught napping with Rohit Kumar and Pawan Sehrawat easily pinching bonus points on his side.
Jawahar - 3/10
Jawahar Dagar's advance tackles proved a little too expensive as Pawan Kumar feasted on the right corner's blemishes to pick up some crucial points on the day.
Substitutes
Vijay - 7/10
Vijay did extremely well in the raiding unit to complement Pardeep Narwal and finished with four important raid points while also contributed on the defensive front with some ankle holds and confident dashes.
Bengaluru Bulls
Rohit Kumar - 9/10
Rohit Kumar produced easily his best performance of the season as the Bulls skipper kept his team afloat with a combination of bonus points and touch points with less than two men left on the mat in the second half, which ensured that the Bulls did not face a heavy deficit in the end. Kumar picked up 15 raid points and one tackle point.
Pawan Sehrawat - 7.5/10
Pawan's exuberant raiding was not on full tilt in the game as he was pinned down on a few occasions but the youngster's ability to pick points with pace complemented Rohit Kumar as Sehrawat finished with 8 raid points to his name.
Mahender Singh - 8/10
Young Mahender Singh was the pick of the defenders for the Bulls as he produced a terrific 'High-5' in the first half and also added a crucial tackle on Pardeep Narwal in the second half to finish with six tackle points.
Kashiling Adake - 6/10
The veteran raider blew hot and cold right throughout the match as he contributed in both departments but his feeble ankle hold on Vikas Jaglan in the penultimate raid of the game could be labeled as the 'turning point' of the game, which saw the match end in a tie.
Raju Lal Choudary - 4/10
The right corner picked up his only point with a double ankle hold on Pardeep Narwal and was often a target for the Patna skipper.
Amit Sheoran - 4/10
Amit Sheoran too, similar to the case of Raju Lal was not in the greatest of form as he committed far too many errors and finished with just the solitary point from five tackles.
Ashish Sangwan - 5/10
The youngster did not play a prominent part on the points front but was an imperative part of the Bulls defense unit with his dashes and support to his teammates.
