Noida: It was an absolute edge of the seat show at the Noida Indoor Stadium as Patna Pirates and Dabang Delhi K.C. played out a thrilling tie in PKL Season 11.
The two sides ended with the scores tied at 39-39.
Dabang Delhi K.C. made a superb comeback in the second half after Patna Pirates had dominated the game in the first half on Tuesday night.
For Patna Pirates, Devank top scored with 15 points, while Deepak got 7 and Ankit bagged a High 5.
Meanwhile, Ashu Malik continued his brilliant form with yet another Super 10, scoring 11 points with Ashish adding 7 and Naveen Kumar getting 6 of his own.
Devank and Naveen picked up the first points for their sides before the in-form Ashu Malik landed a three-point raid to set the tone for the contest.
Both Dabang Delhi K.C. and Patna Pirates were matching each other move for move in what was an action-packed start.
As the half wore on, the two defensive units started to tighten things on either end of the court, giving the likes of Naveen, Ashu and Devank a tough time.
However, Sandeep and Devank went through the gears and with a little over five minutes left, Patna Pirates led by 6 points. Ankit had chipped in with an All-Out as Patna Pirates were starting to pull away.
Dabang Delhi K.C. found it tough to score raids in the final minutes of the first half as Patna Pirates marched onto a 10-point lead. Devank completed another Super 10 this season within the first half and Patna Pirates led 20-10 at the break.
The second move of the second half saw Patna Pirates land an All-Out on Dabang Delhi K.C.. But on the other end, Ashu Malik too had started the half well. The Pirates led by more than 10 points, but Ashu Malik was beginning to go through the gears.
Five points from three raids from Ashu Malik and a bit of support from the defence had brought Dabang Delhi K.C. right into the contest.
Soon enough, Dabang Delhi K.C. landed an All-Out on Patna Pirates and wrestled away the momentum. With 10 minutes to go, the Pirates led by 8 points and Devank had already amassed 14 points.
With 7 minutes to go, Ashu completed another Super 10 as Dabang Delhi K.C. continued to fight on. Patna Pirates kept the opposition at bay as the clock ticked on, maintaining a healthy lead.
A Super Tackle on Ayan and a quick raid from Naveen reduced the lead to a 5-point one, but there was just a couple of minutes left.
Then Ashish turned the game on its head with a three-point Super Raid and the deficit was down to one-point. Dabang Delhi K.C. piled on the pressure on Patna Pirates with an All-Out, wiping out the deficit and taking a one-point lead with a minute to go.
Shubham Shinde and Devank turned it back in Patna Pirates’ favour as the contest stayed on a knife edge.
Eventually, Dabang Delhi K.C. fought back again as the two sides finished on the same points. Dabang Delhi K.C. had fought back from a 14-point deficit.
