Jaipur Pink Panthers secured a close and impressive 30-27 win over defending champions Haryana Steelers in Play-in 1 of the Pro Kabaddi League at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium on Saturday.
The defenders stood tall as Aryan Kumar scored a High Five while Deepanshu Khatri got four points for the Pink Panthers, while Nitin Kumar scored seven points.
For the Steelers, Neeraj’s High Five was the main highlight.
It was a topsy-turvy start for both teams as they traded early blows in the first 10 minutes. Nitin Kumar started the assault for the Pink Panthers after he got Neeraj, but soon after, Shivam Patare struck back to dismiss Deepanshu Khatri. As much as the raiders shone in the early minutes, the defenders were equally adept.
Reza Mirbagheri tackled Vinay, then Mohit brought down Shivam before Neeraj single-handedly got Ali Samadi with an ankle hold. Despite this, the Pink Panthers took a slight lead as their defenders struck repeatedly.
The pressure mounted on the defending champions in the second quarter, led by the prowess of the Pink Panthers' Nitin Kumar. He began with a two-point raid on the Steelers that sent Ashish Narwal and Neeraj to the bench, leaving just Jaideep on the mat. The skipper was then tackled by Mohit as the first ALL OUT of the match was inflicted on the Steelers.
The lead extended to six points after that. Steelers’ Vinay added to the tally with a bonus point, but the Pink Panthers remained decisive throughout. Another successful raid from Ali Samadi got Jaideep, while Deepanshu tackled Shivam yet again. This was followed by another tackle from Aryan Kumar on Vinay, taking the score to 18-10 in favour of the two-time champions.
The Steelers worked hard to pull themselves back into the match. Neeraj tackled Parvinder and then Shivam got Mohit in an impressive raid as the defending champions reduced the lead to six points. But for every move, the Pink Panthers had a counter-attack.
With 2 minutes left, a tackle on Vinay by Aryan, which also completed his High Five, effectively sealed the win for the Pink Panthers, as the defending champions were eliminated from the tournament after a three-point loss.
