Bengaluru, Feb 8 (IANS) Raiders Sachin and Guman Singh helped table-toppers Patna Pirates beat U Mumba 47-36 in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8, here on Tuesday.
Sachin (16 points) and Guman Singh (11 points) were in top form for the three-time champions as they consolidated their position on top of the points table with a comfortable victory. U Mumba’s Abhishek Singh (13 points) and Ajith Kumar (11 points) got their Super 10s but the team, especially captain Fazel Atrachali, struggled to provide the support from the defence.
The high-scoring first half belonged to the Patna Pirates despite a mini-fightback by Mumbai.
The Patna Pirates’ raiding trio of Guman Singh, Sachin and Prashanth Rai started positively and gave them an early lead. But a 3-point Super Raid by Abhishek Singh helped Mumbai recover from the pressure of an early all-out. Pirates were relentless in their pursuit and finally got the first ALL OUT in the 9th minute to open a massive 9-point lead.
Mumbai then showed great spirit to fight back. Ajith Kumar’s two-point raid after the all-out gave them the momentum to attack. Abhishek also contributed as they secured their first all-out with 5 minutes to half time.
That reduced Pirates’ lead to two, but their raider Sachin secured a stunning five-point Super Raid to once again tilt the balance of the match. The raider got his Super 10 in the process and Pirates clinched another all-out with two minutes remaining.
The scores were 26-18 at the interval with both sides looking hungry for more. U Mumba managed 2 Super Tackles on Sachin but that was not enough to prevent another all-out. The Pirates maintained a 10-point lead with 10 minutes on the clock. Abhishek Singh clinched his Super 10 but Patna’s defence stepped up as the likes of Sajin C. and Mohammadreza Shardloui contributed tackle points. Guman Singh also picked up his Super 10 as Pirates ensured there was a healthy 11-point lead with 5 minutes remaining.
Ajith Kumar picked up points in consecutive raids for U Mumba as they tried to reduce the lead to less than 7 points. He also got his Super 10 as Mumbai tried their best to fight back. But Patna Pirates were in no mood to concede easy points to Mumbai in their attempt to clinch a playoff spot.
Sachin secured a three-point Super Raid in the final move of the match to ensure Mumbai walked away with no points from the encounter.
–IANS
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