The Jaipur leg of Pro Kabaddi 2016 Season 4 had some really interesting matches with close finishes, and most of them were nail biters that went down to the wire. The first five matches of the leg saw matches finishing with a difference of hardly a couple of points between the winning and losing teams. In the first match, Jaipur beat Hyderabad by four points (28-24). The second match saw Patna beating Mumbai by just two points (36-34).
The third match between Jaipur and Bengaluru was a tie (28-28), and the fourth match between Mumbai and Pune finished with a miniscule difference of 2 points (27-25). The fifth match had Jaipur beating Bengal by 3 points (36-33). The sixth match had Delhi beating Bengaluru 32-24, and the last match of the Jaipur leg was disappointing for the home team as table toppers Puneri Paltan defeated Jaipur Pink Panthers quite comprehensively, with the final score reading 33-28.
The league now moves into the Hyderabad leg and Telugu Titans would be expected to win some matches in their home turf. Let us now take a look at 5 of the most phenomenal performances of the Jaipur leg by players who fought really hard to give their team the victory:
1) Jasvir Singh vs Bengal Warriors
Jaipur Pink Panthers had a phenomenal run at home, winning 2 and drawing one of their first three matches. They beat Bengal Warriors 36-33 after their draw against Bengaluru Bulls (28-28), and had Shabeer Bapu and Jasvir Singh to thank for the victory, who gave amazing display of their skills on the court to lead his team.
The captain led from by example as he went for 17 raids, out of which 8 were successful, 6 were empty and 3 were unsuccessful. He was adjudged the Best Raider of the Match as he had a total of 11 touch points and 2 bonus points to his name to give him a total of 13 raid points, the most in the match. If not for him, his team would have found it really difficult to beat Bengal Warriors, who themselves had quite a decent game, but couldn’t manage to be the better team of the 2 in the match.
2) Deepak Niwas Hooda vs Jaipur Pink Panthers
Puneri Paltan had another exemplary performance in Pro Kabaddi 4 as they defeated Jaipur Pink Panthers 33-28 in their own backyard. Pune now have 19 points in 5 matches, out of which they have won 3, lost 1 and tied 1. They will be going into the Hyderabad leg full of confidence, as the table toppers after the first two legs.
Pune have Deepak Niwas Hooda to thank for their victory, as he scored 9 raid points for the side and was also adjudged as the Best Raider of the Match. He went for 15 raids out of which 8 were successful, which gave him a success rate of 53%. He was so good on the court that not a single defender of the Panthers could catch him, as he didn’t have even one unsuccessful raid attempt to his name. He showed breath taking agility on the court to outclass the defenders and score some really important points for his team.
3) Rishank Devadiga vs Dabang Delhi
U Mumba, who had quite a disappointing start to their season had something to cheer about in their match against Dabang Delhi, which saw them winning the match 27-25 and collect 5 points in the match to go third in the table with 11 points. One of the main reasons for their victory was their star raider Rishank Devadiga, who was on fire as his performance gave him the award of best raider of the match.
The relatively low scoring match saw him fearless go for raids and try his best to collect points for his team. He went for 13 raids out of which 6 were successful, 3 were empty and 4 were unsuccessful raids. He scored 6 touch points and 2 bonus points at crucial moments in the match to collect a total of 8 points for his team, which made all the difference for them as the other raiders had a dismal day at the office for Mumbai.
4) Shabeer Bapu vs Bengal Warriors
The credit for Jaipur’s more than decent performances in the last few matches at home would go to Jasvir Singh, and the rock of their defence, Shabeer Bappu. The experienced defender had a great game against Bengal Warriors, as his won the match 36-33 mainly due to his defensive capabilities and captain Jasvir Singh’s thrilling performance.
He was chosen as the best defender of the match, thanks to his 2 timely super tackles that stopped the opposition from scoring points. A tightly contested match that saw the difference between the victors and losers being just 3 points was influenced by his performance in the defence. He also had six raid points to his name, and four tackle points to give him a total of 10 points in the match. His all-round display of skills was a major factor in Jaipur’s win.
5) Pardeep Narwal vs U Mumba
Defending champions Patna Pirates have 2 wins out of 2 matches and are placed fourth on the table with 10 points. They have been successful and have showed their dominance in all departments of the game so far. They defeated U Mumba 36-34, and half of those points for Patna came from their go-to man Pardeep Narwal, who was a class apart in the match with 18 raid points to his name.
The meticulous and quick thinking agile entered the opponent’s den 25 times for raids, and was successful 12 times. He had 5 unsuccessful raids and 8 empty raids in his attempts to score points for his team. He had a total of 18 touch points, and gave one of the most amazing performances of the season so far and was applauded by one and all after the match. He proved once again that he’s a very important weapon in Patna’s arsenal with his next level performance.
