Prashanth Rai’s brilliance helped UP Yoddhas share honours with Bengal Warriors in a nail-biting clash at the Balewadi indoor stadium here on Saturday. At the end of an entertaining contest, it was 40-40.
Prashanth scored 13 points, including eight bonus points, off 19 raids, revealing his mastery in launching deep raids into the rival zone. Warriors’ Maninder Singh, too, made an impact, launching 24 raids and finishing with 16 points.
Yoddhas were ahead 18-15 at the break, thanks to Devidiga who showed the way with a super raid nine minutes into the match. His power and reach helped him drag three tacklers and give his side the lead (12-10) for the first time in the encounter.
In the second match of the day, Puneri Paltan prevailed 33-32 over U Mumba. Nitin Tomar (13 points) was the top-scorer for Paltan while Siddharth Desai (15) played his heart out for U Mumba.
The results: Zone B: UP Yoddhas 40 (Prashanth Rai 13) tied with Bengal Warriors 40 (Maninder Singh 16). Points: Yoddhas 3, Warriors 3.
Zone A: Puneri Paltan 33 (Nitin Tomar 13) bt U Mumba 32 (Siddharth Desai 15). Paltan 5, U Mumba 1.
