Bengaluru, Jan 17 (Agency) Nine tackle points from Right Cover Sunil and 17 in total from the Patna Pirates’ defence helped them beat the Bengaluru Bulls 38-31. Pawan Sehrawat had a stellar first half and finished the game with 10 points. With this win, Patna joined Bengaluru at the top of the vivo Pro Kabaddi points table with 39 points and only trail them on point difference. Sehrawat gave the Bulls the perfect start, scoring his team’s first six points to help them build a four-point lead. He added a seventh to his and his team’s tally with a bonus but was tackled by Sunil and sent to the bench. Sunil and Mohammadreza Chiyaneh combined to pin down Chandran Ranjit before the former added another tackle point to his team’s tally to leave the Bulls with just two players on the mat.
A touch point followed by a perfect Ankle Hold on Deepak Narwal from Chiyaneh saw the Pirates inflict the game’s first All Out and take a two-point lead. The Bulls tried to wrestle the lead back, but the Pirates were resistant and matched them point-for-point to ensure they stayed ahead by two on the scoreboard. Patna’s defence continued their strong work, as Chiyaneh and Sunil sent Sehrawat and Ranjit to the bench to push the Pirates’ lead to four. The two teams added a couple of points to their scoreboard before the halftime whistle to go into the break, with the Pirates leading 20-16. Patna extended their lead to five, courtesy of a touch point from Guman Singh. But a bonus point from Deepak and a Super Tackle from Saurabh Nandal helped the Bulls claw back to within two on the scoreboard. The Pirates’ defence responded with two tackle points to reduce the Bulls to two players on the mat. A touch point for the Pirates left Bengaluru with just a solitary player, but a touch point from Dong Geon Lee managed to keep the All Out at bay.
However, Patna did not relent, as they added another touch point before pinning down Lee in the subsequent raid to inflict an All Out and take a 28-21 lead. Guman Singh two-point raid followed by some spectacular work from the Pirates defence and a helping hand from skipper Prashanth Kumar Rai pushed Patna’s lead up to 12 and left the Bulls with just three players on the mat. Bengaluru’s defence Super Tackled Guman and Sachin in quick succession to cut the deficit to nine. But remorseless tackling from the Pirates’ defence ensured Patna remained significantly ahead on the scoreboard. With the Bulls’ raiding unit continuing to falter, their defence shouldered the responsibility of helping their side earn a point. They picked up two more Super Tackles in the final few minutes of the game to bring the deficit down to six. The Pirates’ defence added one last point to their tally before Chiyaneh went in for the game’s final raid and watched the clock tick down to zero to confirm a crucial win for the Pirates.