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The last time they met this season, Dabang Delhi got the better of Jaipur. However, the Panthers ensured they kept their playoff dreams alive with a thoroughly dominating win over the capital side in Sunday's first Pro Kabaddi League encounter.
The second match saw home side, Patna Pirates take on a resurgent Bengal Warriors. They played out what was largely an evenly contested affair. Both sides were complacent at the back but Patna's Monu Goyat, Pardeep Narwal and Bengal's Maninder Singh and Deepak Narwal were responsible for a thriller in Ranchi which eventually ended in a draw. All four of them scored super 10's.
Let's take a look at the major talking points from Sunday's games.
#1 Jaipur's Nitin Rawal opens the floodgates
We're approaching the business end of the tournament and it was evident in the manner in which Jaipur and Delhi approached the game. Raiders from both sides were extremely hesitant to take risks in the opening minutes of the match. It was a cagey affai,r to say the least.
Jaipur's Pawan Kumar and Delhi's Rohit Baliyan struggled to carve openings but Nitin Rawal's monstrous super raid which resulted in an all out on the capital side, opened the floodgates in the first half. Post that, Jaipur's raiders seemed much more at ease. In their pursuit to reduce the deficit, Delhi's raiders too began to act proactively and breathed life into the game.
However, the Dabangs were utterly disappointing at the back, consistently conceding cheap points. To put things into perspective, Pardeep Narwal alone has score more raid points than the entire Jaipur unit. Despite which, their raiders looked menacing against Delhi. It speaks volumes about Delhi's disjointed back line.
#2 Meraj Sheykh cannot do it all
When Delhi's captain struggled for form in the opening week of Season 5, coach Bhendigiri instantly dropped him from the starting lineup. Ever since, the Iranian has been in much better form and has been among the few players who seems hungry to win. He has always been positive.
Sadly for him, his teammates have lacked the intensity and it was visible against Jaipur. The Panthers found it far too easy to cut open Delhi's defence. They were slow off the blocks and looked low on confidence throughout the night.
As a result, the Panthers didn't have to be at their best to win the match. If Delhi have aspirations of a playoff spot, they need someone apart from Meraj to begin firing. It's unrealistic to expect Sheykh to shoulder all the responsibility. After all, he's just returned from an injury.
#3 Crucial win for Jaipur Pink Panthers
Stuck at the bottom of the points table in Zone A, after ten rounds of matches, the Panthers have struggled to build momentum in the last two weeks. They now have two wins in five matches. It's not an incredible record by any means but looking at the larger picture, their victory against Delhi couldn't have come at a better time.
Three teams in Zone A have already played fourteen matches or more. The draw has been kind to the Panthers but they haven't made the most of it. They have an amazing opportunity to play the waiting game and chalk out their strategies based on the results of the other sides in the table.
This win means they now trail Pune by just one point and U Mumba by three, who have played three more matches than them. Beating Delhi is no mean feat but it still had to be done. Jaipur were disciplined and looked intent from the get-go.
#4 Experienced Vishal Mane committing too many errors
With just 27 tackle points in 13 games, Patna's experienced campaigner has been struggling for form this season. Against the Bengal Warriors, the cover defender was completely exposed. He was hyperactive and dived in for advanced tackles without thinking twice.
His overaggressive approach led to him conceding multiple cheap points to Bengal who in a sense relied on him to stay alive in the match. Usually a reliable defender, Mane was a shadow of his former self tonight.
He failed to read the game and jumped into the fire when he shouldn't have. For a player who is the vice-captain of Patna Pirates, Mane didn't do much to establish himself against Bengal's raiders, often finding himself in no man's land. He attempted 8 tackles and was successful just once.
#5 Pardeep Narwal sets another mind boggling record
Far too often, we see quality players fade away. But Patna's Pardeep Narwal never ceases to amaze. He's in another stratosphere. On Sunday, he scored yet another super 10 and thereby set a new record for the most super 10's in a single season.
He recorded his 11th against the Warriors and did so in his 15th match. It's a mind-boggling record but he's been so consistent that it now seems normal. Ten points were considered a herculean feat for the past 4 seasons.
Pardeep Narwal has completely changed the dynamic. He's now at a stage where scoring anything less than 10 points is considered a failure by his coach. Multiple raiders have lit up this league but none have been as ruthless as baby-faced Pardeep Narwal.
