Hyderabad, Oct 21 (IANS) The Puneri Paltan side was on fire and put on an outstanding performance, swatting away the challenge from the Patna Pirates in style in a Season 11 match of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the GMCB Indoor Stadium, Gachibowli, here on Monday. Led by Aslam Inamdar, defending champions Puneri Paltan defeated the Patna Pirates 40-25 to register their second consecutive win to start their campaign.

Puneri Paltan started strongly in their second match, as Aslam Inamdar and co quickly stormed into a 4-0 lead in the first few minutes of the game. Soon after though, the Patna Pirates started to fight back with Ankit’s Super Tackle on Inamdar cutting down the deficit to one point in the early exchanges.

With just under 10 minutes to go in the first half, the Puneri Paltan side had surged ahead and were looking to consolidate on a three-point lead. After that, a flurry of solid defensive tackles further extended the Puneri Paltan’s lead, who were dominating proceedings at this point.

For the Puneri Paltan, captain Aslam Inamdar led by example with seven points and had fantastic support from Aman with five points and Mohit Goyat, who bagged three points. At the half-time break, Puneri Paltan led 20-10.

After the break, Puneri Paltan continued to dominate the contest, keeping Patna Pirates at arm’s length. The Season 10 champions were looking comfortable and were building on their lead as the second half moved towards the midway stage. At that point, Puneri Paltan had a 13-point lead. Patna Pirates were giving it their all to mount a comeback, but the likes of Mohit Goyat, Aslam Inamdar and Aman were having none of it. As the second half wore on, the Puneri Paltan side had a solid hold on the contest and were looking good for a big win.

In the final minutes, the Patna Pirates’ Jang Kun Lee was introduced and his arrival triggered a round of rapturous applause from the crowd. However, there wasn’t enough time to turn the tide, as the Puneri Paltan side came away with a comfortable win to wrap up an entertaining Monday evening.

In the two matches on Tuesday, Telugu Titans will take on former winner Jaipur Pink Panthers in the first match while UP Yoddhas take on Bengaluru Bulls later.