Patna Pirates hold U Mumba

Patna: Not much was heard of him before Friday but when North Korean Tae Deok Eom stepped up for the Patna Pirates, he made it count like no other. With a minute to go and only Sandeep Narwal in his corner, Eom produced a stunning defence to hold U Mumba to a draw (37-37) here at Patliputra Sports Complex.
The expectant throng had been waiting for their turn to show off their wares on the mat with bated breath.For the Patna Pirates, though, the beginning seemed a far cry from their exploits of the previous day against Puneri Paltans as they conceded the first ‘lona’ of the match against a determined and solid U Mumba outfit.
Even the irrepressible skipper of the Pirates, Rakesh Kumar, failed to deliver his successful raids as the tourists bludgeoned their way to take the lead. The Mumbai team yet to taste defeat in the league proved their mettle once again as they outclassed the hosts within the first eight minutes to register their first bonus point of the evening.
With the score reading at 11-5 in favour of the marauding tourists, Rakesh Kumar and Co. came back with vengeance and a steely resolve to make their worth count. Raiders Narwal and Rakesh Kumar accounted for successful raids in the U Mumba territory as the home team clawed its way back into the match after weathering an early storm from Anup Kumar and his men.
Narwal, in particular, who had pulled off a near-impossible raid against the Paltans on Friday, terrorized the opposition defence with his immaculately timed raids as the Pirates restored lost ground with an ample display of grit and gumption in front of a 2500 strong crowd. With their lead cut down to just one point (20-21) after the first half the orange and black brigade began the second half in right earnest cutting out Kumar and Narwal’s successful raids. Stretching their lead to four points the visitors did not let the reins slip as the over adventurous Narwal failed to break the Mumba deadlock.
The Pirates, though, were in no mood for a meek surrender and that too within their coveted bastion here at Patliputra stadium. The captain, though, hardly looked the bit as he was often sorted out by the opposition defenders. The national skipper looked a poor shadow of his former self as the Mumba defenders often got the better of the 32 year old.
With the hosts trailing by two points, Pawan Kumar scored a vital raid to stretch the lead for Anup Kumar and his men to four points. Eom and Narwal, though, had other ideas as the duo brought the home team at par on 37 points after combining for some exhilarating work in defence and attack. With a minute remaining U Mumba settled for a tie which at one point had seemed to be within their grasp. The Pirates, however, will be the happier of the two after making an awe-inspiring comeback to finish the match on level terms.
Earlier in the day, the Bengal Warriors did their chances of remaining in the top-four no harm as they cruised past a hapless Telugu Titans side by five points (40-35). The latter languishing at the bottom of the table displayed yet another insipid performance as the Warriors skippered by the irrepressible Nilesh Shinde notched up an emphatic win. Although the Titans lost the encounter, their raider Rahul Choudhary was declared the Man of the Match.