Patna Pirates defeated table topper Bengaluru Bulls on Sunday during the 8th season of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL). The three-time champions, Patna won 38-31 to sit on the Bulls shoulders in the standings as they are only separated by score difference. At the same time, the earlier encounter between Jaipur Pink Panthers and Tamil Thalaivas ended in a thrilling tie with both teams at 31-31. It was a league high fifth draw of the campaign for the Thalaivas in 10 matches of the PKL season 8. Former champions Jaipur now have 31 points and sit fourth in the standings, Tamil Thalaivas are one place below in fifth, with 30 points.
The opening contest of the night served a treat as both teams went in search of a crucial win and produced nail-biting stuff. In the opening half, Jaipur took four-point lead as they ended the half at 17-13, while Thalaivas were still in the contest.
With the contest far from over, the Thalaivas made sure they returned back the favors by winning the second half 18-14 and thus inflicting a tie. Raider Manjeet ended with a ‘high-five’ of nine points for Thalaivas while Arjun Deshwal and Naveen scored six points each for the Panthers.
The second match of the day saw two former champions lock horn as Bengaluru Bulls and Patna Pirates squared off in a tight battle at the top. Patna took a lead of four-point lead into the break, with the scores reading 20-16, as the Bulls hanged in to salvage something in the second half. The Pirates consolidated on their halftime lead and ended the contest with a seven-point winning margin as the scoreboard read 38-31 in favour of the three-time champions Patna.
For the Pirates, defender Sunil scalped nine points while raider Sachin raided eight. The impressive Pawan Sehrawat scored his 39th ‘Super 10’ in PKL history to end with 10 points for the Bulls.
The win sees Patna Pirates go second in the table, only separated by score difference (SD) with the Bulls, but have a game hand. Both the former champions have 39 points each. The defeat did have bearings in terms of SD, but the Bulls still sit top of the pile and will have the perfect opportunity to extract revenge when the teams meet again on Thursday (January 20). The Pirates though wont have any easy encounters as they will take on another top aspirant Dabang Delhi in a fortnights time before they face the Bulls.
