Gujarat Giants defeated the Patna Pirates 40-32 to keep their playoffs hopes alive at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium on Tuesday, securing their place in the top eight. Their team appears to be gaining momentum at the right moment, as evidenced by Himanshu Singh’s Super 10 and Mohammadreza Shadloui’s all-around effort, which enabled them record their third victory in four games. The Pirates lost their Super 10 match against Mandeep Kumar.
Shadloui scored the opening point of the evening with the first raid attempt, which was a surprising decision on the part of the Giants. Before Rakesh Sungroya’s two-point raid handed his team an early lead, Ayan accomplished the same for the Patna Pirates. After Ankit Jaglan brought his team back to parity, Mandeep Kumar and Navdeep helped the Patna Pirates take a two-point advantage.
Lucky Sharma recorded the game’s first Super Tackle, though, and the Giants rallied. Rakesh’s two-point raid and Shadloui’s tackle put their team ahead 10–5. After the first 10 minutes, Lucky Sharma and Himanshu Singh made sure that their team had a 12-8 lead, but Mandeep Kumar quickly responded for the Pirates with a Super Raid.
After an exchange of raids between Himanshu Singh and Mandeep Kumar in the second quarter, Nitin Panwar’s tackle allowed the Gujarat Giants score the game’s first ALL OUT, giving them a five-point lead (18–13). Even though Mandeep Kumar finished his Super 10 and kept the Patna Pirates in the game, his team was still behind 23–17 at the end of the first half.
Ayan gave his team a boost at the start of the second half, and Ankit Jaglan helped the Pirates cut the gap to three points. As the two sides faced off, Himanshu Singh continued his impressive play and helped the Giants reclaim their six-point advantage. The Patna Pirates stayed within striking distance with less than ten minutes remaining, cutting the deficit to two points with a score of 27–25.
With a Super Tackle from Nitin Panwar and a handful of tackles from Mohammadreza Shadloui, the Gujarat Giants took a six-point lead. Keeping his side in the lead, Himanshu Singh also finished his Super 10. With less than three minutes remaining, Ankit Jaglan’s Super Tackle cut the lead to 33-30, but the Patna Pirates weren’t ready to give up just yet.
Ankit Rana made it a two-point game for the Patna Pirates with less than a minute remaining. Mohammadreza Shadloui stepped up with a pivotal two-point raid as the game was nearing its end. They won 40-32 in a thrilling match as their all-rounder came in clutch and completed another ALL OUT, making the outcome clear.
