Hyderabad: Ajit was at his best for U Mumba as he led his team to a 42-40 victory over Patna Pirates at the GMCB Indoor Stadium in Gachibowli here.
Ajit finished the game with an impressive 19 points in 18 raids, negating the 15 points from Devank for Patna Pirates on Wednesday night.
Despite the final result, it was the young raiding duo of Devank and Ayan that gave 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 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 Ajit 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 as he also got Patna Pirates All-Out for the first time in the game.
With 11 points in just seven raids, Ajit went on to give U Mumba the lead at the end of the first half with the score reading 24-21.
Having taken the lead, U Mumba worked hard to maintain it. It seemed like Ajit kept winning points whenever he went to raid, ensuring that Patna Pirates were unable to take the lead despite scoring points regularly.
A see-saw match from the get-go, this time it was Devank who reached his Super 10 with a Super Raid for Patna Pirates. It was a gutsy move from the young raider who made the most of a Do-Or-Die raid, which shifted the lead back to Patna Pirates.
As the match neared its end, Patna Pirates thought that they could hold on to their extremely slender lead but Ajit and U Mumba had other plans.
Ajit succeeded in multiple raids and levelled the score, taking Patna Pirates to their last player on the mat.
In the end, U Mumba took a two-point lead after Amirmohammad Zafardanesh ensured that Patna Pirates were All-Out, sealing a well-earned victory.
