Arjun Deshwal was the star for Jaipur Pink Panthers as they beat Patna Pirates 51-30 in match No 82 of Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Patna went into the match as favourites, but the Panthers showed why the sport of kabaddi is a great leveller with a commanding win. Their star raider Arjun Deshwal scored 17 points and was ably backed up by Deepak Hooda with 8 points.
Defenders Sandeep Dhull and Vishal also picked up High 5s in a bullish win that exposed the chinks in Patna’s armour. The three-time champions had a poor day in defence with their cover defenders Sajin C and Neeraj Kumar picking up no points in the entire match.
In the second match of the day, Tamil Thalaivas defeated Bengaluru Bulls 42-24 in a one-sided contest. This match turned out to be one-sided too as Tamil Thalaivas dominated the mat to win the prestigious Southern Derby.
Ajinkya Pawar scored a Super 10 for the Tamil team and was supported well by his raiding partner Manjeet with 8 points.
Their defenders had a great night too with Sagar picking up a High 5 to ensure Bulls’ captain Pawan Sehrawat ended the match without a Super 10.
Updated points table
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Lost | Tie | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dabang Delhi K.C. | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 48 |
| 2 | Bengaluru Bulls | 16 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 46 |
| 3 | Patna Pirates | 13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 45 |
| 4 | Haryana Steelers | 14 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 42 |
| 5 | U Mumba | 13 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 41 |
| 6 | Bengal Warriors | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 41 |
| 7 | U.P Yoddha | 14 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 40 |
| 8 | Jaipur Pink Panthers | 14 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 40 |
| 9 | Tamil Thalaivas | 14 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 39 |
| 10 | Puneri Paltan | 14 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 37 |
| 11 | Gujarat Giants | 12 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 28 |
| 12 | Telugu Titans | 14 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 22 |