Jaipur, Jan 15 (UNI) A brilliant come back in the final minutes of the game helped Patna Pirates secure a high-octane 39-39 tie against Dabang Delhi K.C. at the SMS Indoor Stadium here on Sunday night.
Dabang’s Ashu Malik (14 points), Pirates’ Sachin (10 points) and Manjeet (10 points) were the top performers of the night.
Delhi Dabang K.C.’s Ashu Malik sparked the game into life with a Super Raid in the eighth minute, taking out the defensive trio of Manish, Ankit and Krishan to leave Patna Pirates reeling. Attempting to stave off an All-Out, Manjeet pulled off a Super Tackle to keep them in the game.
Inevitably though the first All-Out came soon after as Delhi Dabang K.C. took a 16-10 lead. That served almost as an opportunity for Patna Pirates to reset though, and they picked up their game soon after with a previously ineffective Sachin even picking up some raid points through the half.
The difference though was Malik, whose 9 points crucially gave Delhi Dabang K.C. a 6-point lead at the break.
Malik’s absolute raiding dominance continued well into the second half, and as he racked up points, Patna Pirates crumbled. A second All-Out followed soon enough to extend Delhi Dabang K.C. into a 28-19 lead.
It wasn’t all plain sailing though. Patna Pirates fought back in the final quarter of the game and reduced Delhi Dabang K.C.’s numbers. A Super Tackle by Mohit to keep their lead, came at a cost, with Ashish issued a yellow card for violent play.
Patna Pirates inflicted an All-Out to reduce the gap to four points with three minutes to play. Within a minute the lead had disappeared, and the momentum shifted massively.
With a mere seconds of the game left though, both teams chose to play out and secure the tie, a fair result at the end.
