Jaipur Pink Panthers defeated Bengaluru Bulls 36-31 in a closely-fought match in the Pro Kabaddi League at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday.
This win puts the boys from Jaipur at the top of the table. Here spurred on by a buoyant home-crowd they showed their class by taking the game away at crucial moments. The boys from Jaipur have dominated most of the games they have won but here the Bulls fought hard against them.
The Bulls needed to win this one especially with competition for the play-offs becoming very intense. This loss leaves them in a very precarious position in fifth place. They suffered a setback before the match itself as they learnt their star raider Ajay Thakur would not play the match.
The match started with the Bulls coming out very aggressive and going after the Pink Panthers. This created some alarm in the Pink Panthers defense. But, their star-raider Jasvir Singh, struck back by launching attacks of his own. The Bulls, however, continued in their aggressive manner as they racked up LONA points. Even their defence seemed to be doing well with Rajesh Mandal thwarted the Jaipur attack.
The Pink Panthers were not ready to throw in the towel. Rajesh Narwal hit back for them as he went on the attack. Jaipur were slowly clawing their way back into the game as Jasvir Singh gave Narwal good support by creating panic in the Bengaluru defense. As the first half ended, the Bulls had a slight lead of three points, with the score reading 20 to 17.
The second half saw the boys from Jaipur dominate. They came out aggressive and this soon showed in their game. The crowd too got into the act as it cheered them on as the Pink Panthers scored LONA points. The two teams were now tied at 24 points each.
Then Narwal slipped past Bengaluru Bulls skipper Manjit Chillar and scored a point. Maninder Singh then followed up Narwal's effort by scoring two points off his own. From here on it was all Pink Panthers as they scored point after point.
The Bulls seemed to be all over the place as their skipper Chillar and the referee had an argument and Chillar was sent off. In the end the Pink Panthers did not let go of the lead as they won 36 to 31 and climbed to the top of the table.
Points Table
1]Jaipur Pink Panthers - 40 points
2] U Mumba - 38 points
3] Patna Pirates - 34 points
4] Telugu Titans - 33 points
5] Bengaluru Bulls - 31 points
6] Dabang Delhi - 26 points
7] Bengal Warriors - 20 points
8] Puneri Paltan - 15 points
