Bengal Warriors came up with an all-round performance on Thursday to defeat former champions Patna Pirates 35-26 in a Pro Kabaddi League match at the Nehru indoor stadium in Chennai.
Raider Maninder Singh, with a Super 10 (10 raid points), and defender Rinku Narwal who impressed with a High 5 (5 tackle points), were the stars for Bengal who forced two all-outs on the rival team in a fast-paced second half.
All-rounder Monu came in for Korean raider Jang Kun Lee in the Patna Pirates lineup as coach Ram Mehar Singh tried to halt their bad run of form by bringing in more balance to the starting seven.
The three-time champions started on the front-foot with star player Pardeep Narwal looking ominous in the early minutes for the opposition, ably supported by Iranian Mohammad Esmaeil Maghsoudlou.
Bengal were served well by the duo of K Prapanjan and Maninder Singh as they helped their side claw their way back into the game. A closely fought first half ended 15-14 in favour of the Warriors.
Bengal Warriors inflicted the first All-Out of the game on Patna Pirates in the second minute after the restart.
In the second half Bengal Warriors produced a good defensive performance to keep the Pirates at bay.
Rinku Kumar and Jeeva Kumar marshalled the Bengal defence as Maninder upped his game in the second half to inflict a second All-Out on the Pirates with 11 minutes remaining till the final whistle and open up a 13-point lead (28-15).
Bengal Warriors moved to second spot in the points table with the result while Patna remained at the bottom.
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