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#3 The pendulum swings wildly between the Bulls and Panthers
Playing second on the opening night in Lucknow were the Bengaluru Bulls and the Jaipur Pink Panthers. The two teams played out a wildly entertaining affair that saw the momentum shift one way and then the other.
The Pink Panthers started out strong with the birthday boy and captain Manjeet Chhillar leading from the front. They established a 7-3 lead within nine minutes of the game and it took the Bulls by surprise especially as they saw their captain Rohit Kumar get constantly sent to the bench after being tackled repeatedly.
The Bulls though after the early All Out engineered a strong comeback with Rohit starting to fire finally. They engineered an All Out of their own and managed to tie the game up and even take a 12-8 lead at one point. There was one more All Out to come though and it went to the Pink Panthers with Rohit Kumar getting captured in the buzzer raid of the first half.
That second All Out looked decisive as the Pink Panthers got stronger in the second half and really stretched out their lead with the Bulls desperately looking for answers. With 10 minutes left, the Jaipur side enjoyed a comfortable 11-point advantage as they led 27-16.
Jasvir Singh though, Jaipur's lead raider, got tackled on the very next raid and it set in motion a last-ditch effort from the Bulls to salvage the match. Even as the Bulls chipped away at the lead though, Jaipur still led by seven with just three minutes remaining. Ajay Kumar then crucially got rid of Manjeet with the most delicate of touches and with their captain off, the Panthers' defence lacked leadership and as the Bulls inflicted a second All Out on them, fourth overall of the match, it was suddenly a one-point game at 28-29 with time remaining for just one more raid. Somehow the Bulls had come back from the brink.
It was Jaipur's turn to raid though and the Bulls rightfully advanced up high so as to not give Jasvir easy passage across the baulk line. The wily raider though managed a touch point on the Bulls' right corner defender Ravinder Pahal to seal the deal for his side.
Manic!
