Patna Pirates' chances of a top-two finish took a hit as Gujarat Giants held them to a 40-40 tie in an action-packed Pro Kabaddi League match in Pune on Saturday.
For Patna Pirates, Devank got a 'Super 10' while Sudhakar M scored seven points. For Gujarat Giants, Guman Singh and Jitender Yadav scored eight points each and Rakesh top-scored with nine.
Guman Singh's raid, which earned Gujarat Giants three points, put the team in the box seat after only five minutes. The side then piled on more misery with an 'All Out' which put them six points ahead.
Guman, Neeraj and Jitender Yadav combined well but soon Devank and Ayan staged a mount a comeback for Patna Pirates.
Still, Gujarat Giants had a healthy six-point lead midway through the first half.
In the final minutes of the first half, though, Devank and Sudhakar started to chip away at the lead.
At the halfway mark, Gujarat Giants led 22-18.
Patna Pirates came out of the break firing on all cylinders with their defence landing an 'All Out' which brought the deficit down to two points.
Suddenly, Gujarat Giants lost the momentum as Patna Pirates began to flex their muscles.
With nine minutes left in the match, Ayan levelled things up for the Pirates. A couple of 'Super Tackles' by Gujarat Giants helped them wrest back the lead.
But with just four minutes to, Ayan scored an 'All Out' as Patna Pirates were back in the game.
