Punjab, who had lost to United Singhs in the opening match in London, came out trumps today thanks to some astute defending and the brilliant performance by their raider Sarabjeet Singh.
Sarabjeet contributed 20 points to his team's tally but the Man of the Match award went to stopper Yadvinder Singh, who pulled off nine crucial stops in the match.
"I had told the players to just focus on training after we lost the opening match. I had told them not to go anywhere and just remain totally committed to the cause of the team," said Punjab coach Gurpreet Singh.
Leading 33-25 at half time, Punjab piled on the pressure to emerge triumphant.
"We were very low after losing the opening before coach lifted our spirits with a pep talk," said Yadvinder, also the skipper of the team.
This was the second successive loss for California, leaving them bottom of the heap in the points table, which is topped by Lahore Lions with two consecutive wins.