Puneri Paltan cruised into the top-six as it secured a comprehensive 10-point win over Tamil Thalaivas in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL 8) on Tuesday.

Mohit Goyat excelled in raiding and defending as well to steer his side to a third victory in four games. The loss, Tamil Thalaivas’ fifth, ends its hopes of qualifying for the playoffs this season.

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Tamil Thalaivas would rue its chances as it squandered numerous opportunities in the first half to clinch an All Out. The defence had a very poor outing as it managed only six tackle points, while the raiders also failed to make an impact. Himanshu was the top-scorer with eight points.

Puneri Paltan’s complete team performance, which saw Mohit and Aslam Inamdar excel in raiding while Vishal Bharadwaj and Sombir marshalled the defence, earned the side a well-deserved win.

– Patna Pirates seals seventh successive victory –

Patna Pirates overcame a stiff challenge from Bengaluru Bulls to earn a 36-34 win and seal its spot at the top of the PKL table. This was the side’s seventh win on the trot. Mohammadreza Shadloui and Sunil scored six tackle points each for the Pirates. Bengaluru Bulls has just one match remaining in the league and will now depend on the other results to go its way to make it to the playoffs.

Pawan Sehrawat struggled to find his footing as the Pirates defenders took him out with ease, while Sachin’s raids gave Patna a man-advantage closer to the 10th minute. But Bengaluru’s Saurabh Nandal and Chandran Ranjit produced two stunning Super Tackles to keep the Bulls in the fight around the 12th minute.

Pirates’ left-corner Shadloui joined the party with a few trade-mark bone-crunching tackles. Patna’s relentless pressure finally it an All Out in the 16th minute. The first half ended 19-14 with the Pirates in the lead.

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Shadloui picked his High-5 early in the second half with a tackle on Pawan as Patna continued to control the match. Chandran inspired a comeback as his raid points reduced Patna’s lead to just two points with 10 minutes left.

Patna’s Sunil also picked his High-5 as the defenders led the fight against the Bulls. The side continued to produce collective tackles to help Patna once again increase its lead to five points with as many minutes to go. The momentum once again shifted hands as Pawan clinched a three-point raid and that helped the Bulls clinch an All Out to level the scores at 32-32 with three minutes remaining.

But Patna Pirates took the lead once again as Sachin got an important touch point on Jaideep and the the defence got rid of Pawan in the very next raid to seal the game.

– Jaipur Pink Panthers thrashes U Mumba –

Arjun Deshwal was the star for Jaipur Pink Panthers as it thrashed U Mumba 44-28. The raider scored 17 points in a stellar display that saw the side leapfrog Mumbai on the points table and become one of the favourites for a playoff spot.

U Mumba started the match on the front foot with its raiders Abhishek Singh and Ajith Kumar looking in fine form. Ajith clinched a four-point Super Raid in the fourth minute to give his team an early advantage, while Arjun picked up quick points at the other end.

Jaipur Pink Panthers’ defenders, especially right-corner Brijendra Singh, were in good stead as they helped clinch an All Out in the 16th minute. That saw the side lead 17-14 at half-time.

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U Mumbi dominated the early minutes of the second half as it defence got the better of Arjun. A two-point raid from Ajith gave the team an opportunity to inflict an All Out but Jaipur fought back through Brijendra. He produced a stunning three-point Super Raid to rescue his side. Ajith once again produced a two-point raid but Brijendra followed it up with another solid raid.

A Super Tackle in the 30th minute by Nitin Rawal helped Jaipur Pink Panthers open a four-point lead. Pavan TR produced another Super Tackle as the side made a mini-revival and opened a healthy lead.

Arjun’s three-point Super Raid with five minutes remaining gave Jaipur Pink Panthers some much-needed control. He clinched a Super 10 as Jaipur Pink Panthers inflicted another All Out with less than two minutes remaining. That gave the side a nine-point lead and took away any hopes of a U Mumba comeback.