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Devank’s 25 points proved crucial for Pirates as they came from behind to defeat the Thalaivas 42-40. Holders Paltan posted a 36-22 triumph over the Bulls.
PKL: Patna Pirates beat Tamil Thalaivas. (X)
The Patna Pirates rode the individual brilliance of Devank (25 points) as they came from behind to defeat the Tamil Thalaivas 42-40 in a thrilling PKL clash on Friday.
In the second match of the day, Puneri Paltan returned to winning ways with a clinical performance against the Bengaluru Bulls.
The Puneri Paltan, who are captained by Aslam Inamdar, won the game 36-22.
The Tamil Thalaivas were out of the blocks at good pace with Narender Kandola picking up a flurry of points to start with.
Narender Kandola, Sachin and Nitesh Kumar leading the charge, while Devank was soldiering on for the Patna Pirates.
Midway through the first have, the Tamil Thalaivas had a solid 9-point lead.
In the final minutes of the first half, Devank landed a Super Raid on the Tamil Thalaivas, and completed his Super 10.
Similarly, Kandola registered his Super 10 before the end of the first half, as the Tamil Thalaivas went into the break with the score a 23-18 lead.
After the break, Devank continued to chip away at the lead, and landed another Super Raid which brought the deficit down to 2 points.
Devankput his team in the lead with five minutes to go. By now, the dangerous Devank had scored 25 points, and was intent on getting the job done for his side.
Eventually, it was Devank who single-handedly turned the contest on its head, and handed the Patna Pirates a morale boosting win.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)