Maninder Singh scored 17 points as Bengal Warriors edged Telugu Titans 40-39, a victory that catapulted them to top of the table, while hosts Jaipur Pink Panthers comprehensively beat Puneri Paltan 43-34 in Pro Kabaddi League, here on Wednesday.
Deepak Niwas Hooda (12 points) and Deepak Narwal (11 points) picked up Super 10s for the Jaipur side which dominated in all departments to clinch a victory that helped them remain in the Playoffs race while the defeat hurt Pune's chances.
Siddharth Desai scored 15 points for Titans but the defeat hurt their Playoff hopes as well.
The first half was evenly-matched as Maninder Singh was dominant in his raids for the Warriors while Rajnish looked lively in the early minutes for the Titans.
While Maninder made an impact with his raiding skills, it was a lucky mistake from him – going out of bounds – that brought the first real impact on the game as three Telugu defenders followed him into the lobby. The lucky move proved decisive as Maninder produced a four-point raid in his next foray to secure an all-out in the 15th minute of the match.
The Warriors continued to dominate despite Desai's best attempts at reducing the lead. They went into the half time 19-13.
The Titans started the second half positively with Desai picking up valuable raid points.
In defence Vishal Bhardwaj looked his ominous best while Farhad Milaghardan’s all-round abilities played a crucial role as the Titans scripted a comeback. The Titans utilised the momentum to secure an all-out in the fourth minute of the second half to gain lead in the match.
Maninder, the Punjab-born raider, though, single-handedly annihilating the Telugu defence to restore his team's lead.
The Warriors secured their all-out with under seven minutes left in the game to open up a four-point lead. Maninder and his teammates then controlled their nerves to clinch an important win.
