Patna Pirates made a stunning comeback and nearly scripted a fantastic win, but fell short at the very last raid as they played out a 32-32 tie with Puneri Paltan in the Pro Kabaddi League match at the Patliputra Indoor Stadium in Patna on Saturday. Puneri Paltan skipper Aslam Inamdar (13 points), Patna Pirates captain Sachin (9 raid points) and Mayur Kadam (5 tackle points) were the key performers of the match.
Patna Pirates came into the game on the back of a superb win over Bengal Warriors but were unable to ride the momentum in the early stages of the game as they were at the receiving end of the first ALL OUT. Puneri Paltan’s three-man raiding unit of Aslam Inamdar, Mohit Goyat and Pankaj Mohite chipped away at the home team’s defence and a tackle from Gaurav Khatri on Manjeet in the 10th minute have the men in orange an 11-6 lead.
Patna Pirates regrouped well and their raiders, led by captain Sachin, targeted Puneri Paltan’s cover defenders to reduce the deficit. At the halfway mark, the visiting team led 19-14.
The home side got off to a strong start in the second half and a multi-point raid from Sachin had the opposition down to 3 men, but Puneri Paltan defended with great vigour to keep the ALL OUT at bay. However, a mistake from Sanket Sawant saw the side from Pune down to 3 men once again and Patna Pirates sniffed a comeback. With 10 minutes left in the game, they trailed Puneri Paltan by just 3 points at 23-20.
That was when Sachin produced a jaw-dropping raid. The captain got past all 3 defenders in sublime fashion to inflict the ALL OUT and put his side in the lead for the first time in the game. With 9 minutes to go, Patna Pirates led 25-24.
The two teams were locked at 27 points before Patna Pirates upped the ante and went ahead at 30-27 with less than 4 minutes left. Mayur Kadam continued his rich vein of form as he brought up a second consecutive High 5 with a stellar tackle on Pankaj Mohite. Puneri Paltan mounted a comeback in the dying stages of the game and Patna Pirates led 32-31 with just the final raid left, but Manjeet fell short of the bonus line and was tackled as both sides shared the points.
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