Tamil Thalaivas vs. Patna Pirates match Review

A thrilling contest at the Harivansh Tana Bhagat Indoor Stadium in Ranchi as the Patna Pirates and the Tamil Thalaivas brought everything they had to the arena. Pre-match predictions pointed to an easy win for the in-form Patna Pirates, but every raid and tackle point was fought for and neither team made it easy for the other. Both teams started off by scoring in their first raids of the contest.

The Thalaivas began to impose themselves on the match and inflicted an all-out on their opponents, which gave them a lead of 15-8 above the Pirates by the 14^th minute. Ajay Thakur and K. Prapanjan were ruthless in attack and took advantage of every convenience the Pirates’ defence afforded them.

The Patna Pirates showed signs of a fight back in the dying minutes of the first half, but the Thalaivas managed to seal the half with an 18-13 lead. 

The second half began with the Patna Pirates gaining 2 points from a raid by Pirates’ Monu Goyat. Two quick raids by Pirates’ captain Pardeep Narwal saw the scores equalize between the two sides. Moments later, the Pirates took the lead for the first time in the match and Monu Goyat took the opportunity to inflict another super raid on his opponents in the 29^th minute. The Pirates thoroughly utilized the momentum they had built to set up another All-out, tilting the match in their favour and gaining a 33-26 lead.

The Tamil Thalaivas primed for a comeback, but couldn’t find the valuable momentum they needed to hold on to strong positions. Monu Goyat inflicted another 2 point raid on the Thalaivas that left them at the mercy of their opponents in the last 5 minutes.

Unlike the thrilling final minutes that Thalaivas fans are used to by now, The Patna Pirates opted to safeguard their lead and defend tactically so as to limit the points that the Thalaivas could win. Dong Geon Lee of the Thalaivas battled to win a 2 point raid in the last 5 minutes and was successful, but a Do-or-die raid by the Pirates’ Jawahar Dagar closed the tie in favour of the defending champions.