Jaipur Pink Panthers picked up their fourth win on the trot as they put up a dominating display to defeat Gujarat Giants 45-36 in their final 2023-24 Pro Kabaddi League group stage match on Monday.
Arjun Deshwal was once again the star of the show as he stamped his authority with 13 raid points for the Jaipur Pink Panthers, while Parteek Dahiya impressed with 14 raid points.
The defending champions got off to the best of starts as Shubham Shelke and Ajith Kumar struck with multi-point raids and a fine tackle from Reza Mirbagheri on Rohan Singh led to the first all out of the match in just the third minute.
This was the fastest all out of the season and Jaipur Pink Panthers held a massive 9-1 lead.
The Gujarat Giants did well to fight back and reduce Jaipur Pink Panthers to three men, but the reigning champions staved off their advances and recovered to inflict yet another all out in the 16th minute.
Deshwal ran circles around the Gujarat Giants’ defence before Sumit tackled Deepak Singh to give the Pink Panthers a mammoth lead at 23-10. The Jaipur side ended the first half with twice as many points as their opponents as they led 28-14.
Deshwal got his 16th super ten of the season within minutes of the restart and a rock-solid tackle from Sunil Kumar on Jagdeep saw the Pink Panthers pick up their third ALL OUT and a 19-point lead at 37-18.
Gujarat Giants looked all but out of the game but managed a remarkable comeback to find a way back into the contest. Parteek Dahiya came up with a couple of fantastic super raids to not only bring up his Super 10 but also steer his side to an all out.
With five minutes to go, they cut down their deficit to just 9 points at 41-32.
The Giants inched closer to inflicting another all out in the dying moments of the game, but it was not meant to be as Jaipur Pink Panthers clinched the win and retained their spot at the top of the standings
Puneri Paltan beat Haryana Steelers
Puneri Paltan put the Haryana Steelers to the sword and took a massive 51-36 victory later in the day. Mohit Goyat's star turn from the bench handed the game to the Puneri Paltan, who had started otherwise with a second string side with an eye on the play-offs.
Akash Shinde kicked off the game in style for Puneri Paltan with a multi-point raid, almost immediately putting the Steelers under pressure.
The Steelers spent the next few minutes on the defensive, and it took one super tackle to stave off an early all out and keep them within reach. Just as they seemed to have slowly gained momentum though, Paltan inflicted an all out to take a 12-7 lead.
A controlled second quarter of the game saw the Steelers not just edge back into the contest but also wrest back the lead.
A super raid by Vinay to take out Abinesh Nadarajan, Pankaj Mohite and Gaurav Khatri turned the tables on Paltan.
Goyat's individual brilliance staved off a Paltan all out immediately and then soon after, Mohammadreza Chiyaneh came up with a pair of outrageous super tackles to swing the momentum firmly back in Paltan's favour. They inflicted a second all out to take a 10-point lead which they took into the break.
In the second half, the Steelers again rallied together for a comeback of sorts, and yet again, Goyat almost single handedly slammed the brakes on it. They inflicted a third all out halfway through the second half to extend their lead.
Despite a final quarter fightback the Steelers had left themselves with too much of a deficit to deal with and bridge. A series of super tackles avoided a further humiliation, but did nothing for the Paltan who wrapped up a comprehensive victory.