[Video Courtesy: Star Sports] Baliyan’s buzzer raid heroics powers U Mumba past Patna Pirates
Patna Pirates outscored U Mumba in the second half, but U Mumba held on for a thrilling 34-30 win.
A spectacular Super Raid by Rohit Baliyan on the buzzer ensured a 34-30 win for U Mumba against Patna Pirates at the EKA Arena by TransStadia in Ahmedabad on Friday. Patna Pirates forged a strong comeback in the second half, but U Mumba’s raiders did just enough to secure the win.
Neither side took too long to get on the scoreboard, and it looked like Patna Pirates were on course to inflict an All-Out on U Mumba early on. However, a Super Tackle by U Mumba tied the score at 5-5 and gave them some impetus. The Maharashtra-based outfit then moved into the lead and began to build more momentum with Patna Pirates’ defence finding it difficult to contain U Mumba’s raiders.
After seven unanswered points by U Mumba, the three-time champions finally scored a raid point through Vikas Jaglan to halt some of the opposition’s momentum. Having said that, U Mumba were still very much on top with their raiders continuing to find success against Patna Pirates’ defence.
U Mumba eventually enforced the first All-Out of the match on Patna Pirates after a successful two-point raid by Athul MS was followed up with a crunching tackle. They led 17-9 after the All-Out and extended their lead further before half-time to take a 22-9 lead into the break.
With just three men on the mat at the restart for Patna Pirates, U Mumba looked to drive home their advantage. The three-time champions though picked up the first points of the half courtesy of a Super Tackle on Arjun Deshwal. They followed up the Super Tackle with a two-point raid by Mohammad Esmaeil Maghsoudlou to cut U Mumba’s lead to 22-13.
U Mumba, meanwhile, had to wait till the fourth minute for their first point of the half. However, Patna Pirates’ defenders had upped their game and continued to deny the opposition raiders any easy points, while Jang Kun Lee and Pardeep ‘Record-Breaker’ Narwal began finding success against U Mumba’s defence. Patna Pirates eventually enforced an All-Out with 10 minutes left in the half and reduced U Mumba’s lead to 26-21.
The final 10 minutes of the contest saw both sides trade blows with the game going down to the wire. Patna Pirates kept up with U Mumba in terms of scoring thanks to successful raids by Lee, Pardeep and Maghsoudlou. U Mumba’s lead was reduced to just two points at 29-27 with a little under two minutes left on the clock. However, consecutive successful raids by Baliyan as well as a Super Raid by him with just one point to protect before the final whistle, gave U Mumba a four-point victory.
Top Performers:
U Mumba -
Best Raider - Rohit Baliyan (9 Raid Points)
Best Defender - Sandeep Narwal (3 Tackle Points)
Patna Pirates -
Best Raider - Pardeep Narwal (6 Raid Points)
Best Defender - Hadi Oshtorak (3 Tackle Points)
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