New Delhi: The individual brilliance of Devank helped Patna Pirates to beat Tamil Thalaivas in a thriller match at the GMCB Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday evening. Devank scored 25 points as the Patna Pirates won the match by 42-40, to register their first win of the PKL Season 11. The Tamil Thalaivas started the match well as Narender Kandola picked up a flurry of points. The Thalaivas controlled the match and put Patna Pirates under pressure.
Narender Kandola, Sachin and Nitesh Kumar led the charge for the Thalaivas while Devank was the lone warrior for Patna Pirates. Tamil Thalaivas had a 9-point lead midway through the first half. Devank landed a Super Raid in the final minutes of the first half and completed his Super 10. Narender Kandola also scored his Super 10 before the end of the first half as Thalaivas went into the break with a five-point lead.
Devank landed another Super Raid after the break and brought the deficit down to 2 points. Devank scored 22 points in the first 30 minutes of the match, putting pressure back on the opponent. He put his team in the lead with five minutes to go. His performance also rejuvenated the defensive unit, who looked solid in the last phase of the match and didn’t allow the Tamil Thalaivas any way to turn the match around.
Puneri Paltan beat Bengaluru Bulls
In the second match, Puneri Paltan delivered a clinical performance and defeated Bengaluru Bulls with a score line of 36-22 on Friday. Puneri Paltan started the match with a flurry of quick points. Captain Aslam Inamdar and Mohit Goyat troubled the Bulls for the first few minutes. Gaurav Khatri inflicted an All-Out before the first 10 minutes of the game and helped his team take a good lead.
Each member of the team picked up crucial points as Puneri Paltan strengthened their lead. Aslam Inamdar and Mohit Goyat led the charge for Puneri Paltan in the first half. They went into the break with a seven-point lead.
The Paltan came out all guns blazing and extended their lead to 12 points at the start of the second half. Puneri Paltan had a 13-point lead with 10 minutes to go and they were dominating the match.
Bengaluru Bulls tried hard to score some points but Puneri Paltan’s solid defence didn’t let the match go out of control and they walked off the mat with a dominating win.
