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After the defeat at the hands of the home team Patna Pirates yesterday, Jaipur Pink Panthers were looking to bounce back while Bengal Warriors were gunning for another victory.
Starting 7:
Jaipur Pink Panthers – Amit Kumar, Sunil Siddhgavali, Deepak Hooda, Anup Kumar, Ajinkya Pawar, Mohit Chhillar, Sandeep Dhull.
Bengal Warriors – Mahesh Goud, Surjeet Singh, Vijin Thangadurai, Jang Kun Lee, Maninder Singh, Manoj Dhull, Ran Singh.
Substitutes used:
Ajit Singh from Jaipur Pink Panthers and Adarsh from Bengal Warriors
Toss:
Surjeet’s Bengal Warriors won the toss and chose the court which meant Jaipur Pink Panthers had to start the game by raiding first.
Anup Kumar, the Captain Cool, started the match with an empty raid and Maninder Singh responded with his own. With both the teams taking a more patient approach towards the game, it was evident the match would be decided by few key moments.
Deepak Niwas Hooda opened the account for Jaipur Pink Panthers, and Jang Kung Lee evened out immediately. 5 minutes in the game and the score was 2 all. Both Maninder and Ajinkya Pawar were tackled during their respective raids.
The game so far was rather slow. But Jaipur Pink Panthers tried to take charge and tackled Mahesh Goud. Bengal Warriors reviewed the decision, and it proved to be a masterstroke as the raider was safe and was awarded 4 points. This Super Raid by Mahesh Goud set the baton running for Bengal Warriors.
The question now was if Jaipur will see an early all-out? Bengal now started playing smarter Kabaddi.
With 2 players left, Jaipur Pink Panthers desperately wanted to get back in the game but gave away a point to the opposition team by doing a shirt pull. In the subsequent raids, Maninder Singh displaying his sheer strength just bulldozed his way to the middle line with 2 players trying to hang on to his legs. Needless to say, it was a Super Raid, and The Warriors got 4 points for inflicting the all out. The score difference now was a substantial 10 points.
With just over two and a half minute to go for halftime, suddenly Jaipur Pink Panthers were trying to come back into action with Anup Kumar responding with a 2- point raid. The scoreboard read 18-13 with Bengal Warriors still leading the game at halfway through.
The very first raid of the second half started with the Pink Panthers getting a tackle on Jang Kun Lee. But, Bengal Warriors snatched the advantage back by inflicting a Super Tackle on Deepak Niwas Hooda under tremendous pressure.
Bengal Captain, Surjeet followed up with another Super Tackle and ensured there was no more threat of an all-out for the Warriors. Mahesh Goud continued the charm by executing another Super Raid and scored 3 points for the Warriors. Suddenly, Jaipur Pink Panthers who were appearing to stage a comeback were staring down at their own all-out. The score difference was back to 10 points in the first quarter of the second half.
With 12 minutes to go on the clock, Jaipur Pink Panthers’ Mohit Chhillar attempted a Super tackle on Maninder but in vain. The scoreboard at this point read 18 – 26. Bengal Warriors received a green card for excessive chatter during raids.
Display of good timing and game sense by Bengal Captain Surjeet Singh resulted in Jaipur Pink Panthers suffering their 2ndall-out of the game. Clearly, Jaipur Pink Panthers were not in their best of forms this evening as well.
With 5 minutes remaining, the score read 22 – 35 and the writing was already on the wall. The Pink Panther raiding unit tried their best to reduce the difference of points to 7 in order to ensure that they take away at least a solitary point home. But, the Warriors raiders responded were still getting points off the Jaipur defense on a consistent basis.
The match saw the star of the evening, Mahesh Goud having an angry confrontation with Mohit Chhillar regarding a dispute over a touch point. The referee intervened and Goud was handed over a green card.
With less than 3 minutes to go the score difference was back to 10 points. This frustration was very evident on the Panthers. Mohit Chhillar got a green card in the dying moments of the game. Jang Kun Lee continued Bengal domination by scoring a 2-point raid with just a minute remaining on the clock. Jaipur’s decision to review this turned out to be futile.
The match ended with a score line of 28-39 in the favor of Bengal Warriors and Pink Panthers players and team management must be feeling a pinch for not having secured a solitary point from this game.
The raider of the match was Mahesh Goud and Bengal Captain Surjeet Singh ended up with the best defender of the match award for his stellar performance.
With 4 losses in 5 games, it is high time for the likes of Anup Kumar and Deepak Niwas Hooda to pull up their socks and get more consistent performances under their belt. If Jaipur wants to qualify for the playoffs, their defense needs to work as a unit.
Bengal Warriors, on the other hand, look like a well-oiled machine, especially with a plethora of raiding options in the form of Maninder Singh, Jang Kun Lee and Mahesh Goud. Surjeet and Ran Singh have been solid in the defense and if it continues this way, it will be difficult to knock Bengal off the top of Zone B table.
