The Jaipur Pink Panthers and the Gujarat Giants on Sunday began their respective Pro Kabaddi League campaigns with close wins at the GMCB Indoor Stadium, Gachibowli, Hyderabad.
While the Pink Panthers beat the Bengal Warriorz 39-34, the Giants beat the Bengaluru Bulls 36-32.
For the Pink Panthers, captain Arjun Deshwal scored 15 points, while Nitin Dhankar registered 13 points of his own for the Warriorz.
Fazel Atrachali and the Warriorz began the game very well, with the defensive unit working in tandem to foil a flurry of Pink Panther attacks in the early exchanges. Both sides were patient in the first phase of play, with the Warriorz working hard to hold onto a slender lead.
But at the midway stage of the first half, Deshwal wrestled the momentum away from the Warriorz. Shortly after, a solid tackle by Abhijeet Malik helped inflict an all out on the Warriorz, which helped the Pink Panthers storm into the lead.
Even though the Warriorz fought hard after that, it was the Pink Panthers who finished the first half with a three-point lead at 21-18.
The two sides began cautiously in the second half as well as they weren’t keen on conceding any ground.
With just under 10 minutes left in the contest, Malik inflicted an all out on the Bengal Warriorz, which helped the Pink Panthers extend the lead to four points.
It was an action-packed final phase of the game as Dhankar brought the Warriorz right back into the contest. The Pink Panthers, who seemed to be one step ahead all through up until then, were suddenly on the backfoot.
But it was Abhishek KS’s super tackle that sealed the contest for the Pink Panthers, who walked off the mat with a closely contested win.
Narwal scripts history in Bulls loss
Parteek Dahiya, Guman Singh and Sombir starred for the Gujarat Giants, while Pardeep Narwal and Ajinkya Pawar were the best performers for the Bengaluru Bulls.
The first half of the game also saw the record breaker Pardeep Narwal create history as he became the first ever player to achieve the 1700-point milestone in the history of the PKL.
The Bulls kicked off proceedings with Narwal picking up the first points of the game for his side. And even as Narwal and Pawar led the charge for the Bulls in the early exchanges, it was the combination of Singh, Dahiya and Sombir who were pushing the Giants on. Midway through the first half, both sides were locked at 7-7.
Shortly after, Parteek and the Bulls defensive unit inflicted an all out on the Giants, and stormed into the lead. Narwal continued to rake in the points for the Bulls as they kept the Giants at bay in the first half. At the half-time break, the Bengaluru Bulls led the contest 19-16.
The second half saw both sides exercise caution, as neither wanted to let the other have any advantage. While the Bulls continued to lead through the early exchanges in the second half, the Giants were putting up a solid fight. And midway through the second half, the Giants edged ahead, and led the contest 26-23.
After the Giants cranked up the intensity by a couple of notches, both in attack and defence, and took control of the contest. The Giants continued their solid display and eventually came away with the win.
