Hyderabad, Nov 6
Raider Ajit Chavan was at his best and came up with an impressive performance to help U Mumba to a 42-40 victory over the Patna Pirates at the GMCB Indoor Stadium here on Wednesday. Chavan scored an impressive 19 points in 18 raids and negated the 15 points contribution of his counterpart Devank Dalal for the Patna Pirates as U Mumba finished the game on a high.
It was the young raiding duo of Devank Dalal and Ayan Lohchab that gave the Patna Pirates the perfect start. U Mumba were not to be left behind for too long, however, as two consecutive Super Tackles proved crucial for the Sunil Kumar-led side, allowing them to get both Devank and Ayan off the mat.
The first All Out of the game was registered to the name of the Patna Pirates, courtesy of a two-point raid by Ayan. It was a bold move that gave the Shubham Shinde-led side the lead, but Chavan was equally adept in one of his raids, which ended in a Super Raid and also reduced the deficit.
The youngster was not done, however, and another Super Raid completed his Super 10 and also got the Patna Pirates All Out for the first time in the game. With 11 points in just seven raids, Chavan went on to give his team the lead at the end of the first half, with the score reading 24-21.
Having taken the lead early, U Mumba worked hard to maintain it. It seemed like Chavan kept winning points whenever he went to raid, ensuring that the Patna Pirates were unable to take the lead despite scoring points regularly. A see-saw of a match from the get-go, this time it was Devank Dalal, who reached his Super 10 with a Super Raid for the Patna Pirates. It was a gutsy move from a young raider who made the most of the Do-Or-Die raid, which shifted the lead back to his team.
As the match neared its end, the Patna Pirates thought that they could hold on to their extremely slender lead but Chavan and U Mumba had other plans. He succeeded in multiple raids and levelled the score, taking the Patna Pirates to their last player on the mat.
In the end, U Mumba took a two-point lead after Amirmohammad Zafardanesh ensured that the Patna Pirates were All Out, sealing a well-earned victory.