Captain Pardeep Narwal showed fine raiding skills to lead three-time champion Patna Pirates to a 36-33 win over Jaipur Pink Panthers in the first match of the concluding day of Pro Kabaddi League’s Kolkata leg on Thursday. It was Pirates’ second successive win after six consecutive losses.
Narwal picked up 14 points as Pirates made a fine comeback in the second half. South Korean Jang Kun Lee, who returned to the Pirates’ starting line-up after a break, picked up eight raid points.
Narwal, who picked up maximum points against Thalaivas, remained a problem for the Panthers’ defence thanks to some good super raids.
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Lee shines
Lee got vital points for Pirates in the second half which resulted in getting Panthers ‘all out’ in the eighth minute. Narwal picked his ‘Super 10’ with nine minutes remaining in the match.
Panthers kept up the chase with their raiders picking up regular bonus points and the defence securing some good tackles. Pirates opened up a three-point lead with a minute remaining and preserved the same to secure the win.
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In the second match of the evening, Bengal Warriors downed defending champion Bengaluru Bulls in a close encounter, 42-40, to finish the home leg unbeaten and inch closer to a semifinal berth.
The results: Bengal Warriors 42 (Maninder Singh 17, Mohammad Nabibakhsh 9) bt Bengaluru Bulls (Pawan Sehrawat 19, Sumit Singh 7).
Patna Pirates 36 (Pardeep Narwal 14, Jang Kun Lee 8) bt Jaipur Pink Panthers 33 (Nitin Rawal 6, Deepak Hooda 5) .