Bengal, Pirates in 1st draw; Panthers win

 Displaying their might in the raiding department, title holders Jaipur Pink Panthers halted the march of a fighting Puneri Paltan for their second win in the second season of Pro Kabaddi League here on Sunday.

At the Pataliputra Stadium, the Panthers won 35-29 after an intense struggle that provided complete entertainment to the enthusiastic Patna crowd.

The winners leading 19-13 at half time, finally maintained their winning margin. The teams exchanged positions on the league table, with the Panthers going up to sixth with 13 points above their rivals who have 10 to their credit.

Both the teams made drastic changes in their line ups, with Pune handing over the mantle of captaincy to Pravin in the absence of Wazir Singh. Pune coach Ashok Shinde introduced Tushar Patil from the start and the youngster proved his coach right with his display.

Jaipur brought back Navneet Gautam but dispensed with him after the first quarter as he fell prey twice, once to Amit Rathi who too met with little success. Comparatively Sonu Narwal exhibited his class with a super raid to put his side ahead 7-4 early on. Pune retaliated with a brilliant tackle on Rajesh Narwal to narrow the gap.

With Jasvir also stepping up the tempo to claim three victims in three raids, the Panthers came close to inflicting an all-out.

Patna hold Bengal

In the second match of the day, Patna Pirates held Bengal Warriors 20-20 for the first draw of the season.

While substitute Gurvinder Singh sparkled for the hosts, the Warriors relied on the brilliance of South Korean Jang Kun Lee.  

The draw gave both the contestants three points each. As a result, Patna remain fourth in the table with 20 points.