PKL: Patna Pirates pip Pink Panthers in a thriller

Patna Pirates led in the first half with their raiders and defenders performing well while on the other side only Jasveer was successful in raids.

Patna Pirates' defenders stop Jasveer Singh of Jaipur Pink Panthers from completing a raid.

Patna Pirates, which had made the semi-finals in the last two seasons, was off to a winning start in the third edition of the Pro Kabaddi League, pipping Jaipur Pink Panthers 29-28 in the last few seconds, at the Port Indoor Stadium here on Monday night.

Team effort saw the team gaining a slender lead at half time, and after some pulsating moments that thrilled the capacity crowd, the Patna team pulled off an exciting win, with D. Suresh Kumar catching Jasveer and the others converging on the rival raider to seal the match. The last five minutes of the match were more exciting.

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A super-tackle took Jaipur to 24-27. Its raider Sonu Narwal was out but the team immediately made up for it when Patna’s Pradeep Narwal was declared cant-out with just three defenders on the court.

Rajesh Narwal brought Jaipur a point off a raid and defender Rohit Rana was instrumental in catching Patna’s Rohit Kumar to tie the score at 28-all.

Jasveer, who went for a raid to fetch the crucial point for Jaipur was caught, and the crowd broke into a loud cheer for Patna.

Patna Pirates led in the first half with their raiders and defenders performing well while on the other side only Jasveer was successful in raids. His efforts saw Jaipur even leading 8-7 at one point early on. But, Patna overtook Jaipur thanks to two super-tackles in which D. Suresh Kumar was involved, with help from Sunil and Tae Deok Eom.

Rohit Kumar, Pradip Malwal and Manpreet Singh also brought in points for the Pirates.

This is Jaipur Pink Panthers’s first loss in two matches.

Telugu Titans register comprehensive win

In the third match of the Pro Kabaddi League on Monday night at the Port Indoor Stadium, Telugu Titans registered a comprehensive 45-34 win over Delhi Dabang to record its second consecutive win in three matches.

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Captain and leader of PKL points table Rahul Choudhary is back in form while Sukhesh Hegde continues to be a solid pillar of the team. The good omen for the team is its defenders Dharmaraj Cheralathan and Vikas Kale, who joined the team this season, and the Iranian Meraj Sheykh have settled down in their defensive positions.