The stage was set for Rahul Chaudhari and his Telugu Titans side to steamroll over their next opponent, Jaipur Pink Panthers, and move into the final of Pro Kabaddi 2016 Season 4. However, the Jasvir Singh-led team had other plans and was waiting to write its own script in Hyderabad. Not only did they manage to write a script, Jaipur Pink Panthers exorcised their demons and showed that big games are won by tactical brilliance, experience and composure under pressure situations.
Jaipur Pink Panthers, inaugural champions of Pro Kabaddi, went into this deep abyss during the second and third season, making some critics raise their eyebrows about them being one-time wonders. However, during the course of this season, Jaipur have quietly gone about their business and seem to be peaking at the right time, which is always critical in a long tournament.
Despite not having destroyed opponents as regularly as Patna Pirates or Telugu Titans, Jaipur ended up winning 8 of their 14 league matches, same as the team from Hyderabad that was looking more imperious than anyone. The biggest thing that needs to be noted about Jaipur is that they have not been beaten badly by any team in the tournament. Their worst loss came against Telugu Titans and that too by eight points.
Jaipur Pink Panthers are going to be no pushovers in the final on Sunday and they might just end up surprising everyone to become the first team to win Pro Kabaddi twice. Here are five reasons why the men in pink are going to lift the Pro Kabaddi 2016 Season 4 title by beating Patna Pirates tomorrow:
1) Balanced in squad
Jaipur Pink Panthers have solid players with great heads on their shoulders in all departments. To begin with, Jasvir Singh’s raiding is exceptional and he has been their main man in attack, amassing 69 raid points. When it comes to defending, we should not go further than Amit Hooda, who has been a revelation this season and is on par with Mohit Chillar as far as successful tackles are concerned (44). Rajesh Narwal, Ran Singh and Shabeer Bapu lend superb balance to this pool of top talent.
Before the fourth season of Pro Kabaddi started, there was a lot of talk about how teams would be affected due to the newly looking squads. There was complete merit in this premise as several teams were not able to create the right balance in their squad and subsequently, the playing line-up. Jaipur Pink Panthers, despite having their own struggles, have tremendous balance in their squad from all angles.
2) The rise of Ajay Kumar
There is something about Ajay Kumar and do or die raids that is so inexplicably amazing and intriguing. The 22-year-old has been one of the finds of the season and has a really bright future ahead of him. Without a lot of people noticing, Ajay Kumar has scored 60 raid points in Pro Kabaddi Season 4 and that is not easy to do when you play for a team with a conservatie attacking plan.
Maybe it is his age, lack of fear or natural talent, Ajay Kumar does not seem to be intimidated by who is in front of him, be it Dharmaraj Cheralathan, Manjeet Chhillar, Mohit Chillar or Fazel Atrachali. The great part about the young raider is his awareness of the match situation and acting accordingly. A lot of young players get nervous but not Ajay Kumar and he will be a big threat for the likes of Fazel Atrachali, Dharmaraj Cheralathan and Kuldeep Singh.
3) Jaipur Pink Panthers are not dependent on individuals
What is common to Mohit Chillar, Rohit Kumar, Sachin Shingade, Rahul Chaudhari and Kashiling Adake? They all performed exceptionally well in Pro Kabaddi Season 4. However, what else is common between them is that their teams were too dependent on them and they are now out of the tournament. The case is completely different with Jaipur Pink Panthers, who have everyone performing for them this season.
Jasvir Singh, Ajay Kumar and Rajesh Narwal have combined to score nearly 200 raid points, thereby ensuring that there is no pressure on one person. The problem with having one person in exceptional form in your team is the fear of him having a bad day and then there being no one to step up. An excellent example of this was on display in the semi-final, when Amit Hooda, probably the best defender in Pro Kabaddi 4, was sent out. It did not affect Jaipur at all as they had Ran Singh and Rajesh Narwal to fall back upon.
4) Players with a lot of experience and no big stage fright
When it comes to the big games, the end result always depends on who keeps their nerves, especially in sport. Barring a stark difference in the talent levels of teams competing, things often boil down to players’ ability to think and act as opposed to being breathtaking or classy. Jaipur, within their team, have players with great tactical acumen, nerves of steel and the experience of playing in big matches.
Jasvir Singh and Rajesh Narwal have already won the Pro Kabaddi title with Jaipur while Shabeer Bapu has done the same with U Mumba. The presence of these three has often proved to be the defence between win and loss for Jaipur. Shabeer Bapu, in particular, is nowhere on the leaderboards to be found as far raiding and tackling stats are concerned but what he brings to the table cannot be seen in reports. He is likely to play a big role in deciding the outcome of the final.
5) The leadership of Jasvir Singh
He might irk a lot of people with his antics on the kabaddi mat but there is no denying the uncanny knack of delivering possessed by Jaipur Pink Panthers skipper Jasvir Singh. The raider, who has been their best raider in Pro Kabaddi Season 4, is more than just an attacking threat for oppositions. Jasvir, virtually, has ice running in his veins and the look on his face remains the same, irrespective of the situations.
There is this other side of Jasvir Singh that makes him a nuisance for teams playing against Jaipur Pink Panthers. He will go and challenge referee decisions, laugh while raiding or claim to have got a touch point even when that is not the case. He might not be idealistic on all occasions but surely gets the job done, which is what matters in the end. Also, his ability to handle a team with both young and old players has been exceptiona throughout the seasod. So do not be surprised if you see him laughing and collecting the trophy in Hyderabad on Sunday.
