Jaipur: Riding on a good all-round performance, Jaipur Pink Panthers won their first game of the season as Telugu Titans crashed to their second successive defeat
After an opening game loss, Jaipur Pink Panthers bounced back to beat Telugu Titans to record their first win of the fourth season of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League. Both the teams had lost their opening encounter and were keen to get going and it was Jaipur Pink Panthers who produced a solid all-round performance to come out on top.
The Jaipur Pink Panthers climbed to third place in the table with six points after two games whereas the Telugu Titans remain rooted at the bottom of the table.
There was a sense of caution from both sides and after the first five minutes, the teams were tied at 3-3 with both defenses doing a fine job. The first do-or-die raid for both teams came in the 11th minute of the first half but they couldn’t make it count. Vinoth Kumar for Telugu Titans scored four raid points whereas for Jaipur Pink Panthers raider Jasvir Singh had five empty raids. In the final minute of the first half, Jaipur Pink Panthers forced the first super tackle of the game to tie the game 12-12.
Jasvir opened his account and scored two points with his sixth raid in the third minute of the second half. With 13 minutes to go, Jaipur Pink Panthers held a slender lead 16-15 and their defence was holding strong as star raider Shabeer Bapu struggled to get points. Rajesh Narwal first scored two points and then helped Jaipur inflict first all out in the 12th minute of the second half as the Panthers led 24-17.
Sukesh Hegde came on as a substitute for Telugu Titans with less than four minutes left on the clock but failed to inspire his team. The Titans scored five points in the last five minutes as the Pink Panthers sat back to defend their lead. Jasvir Singh scored with a scorpion kick in the dying seconds to give Jaipur Pink Panthers a 28-24 victory.
Final Score Line
Jaipur Pink Panthers Beat Telugu Titans
28 – 24
Best raider of the match – Rajesh Narwal (Jaipur Pink Panthers)
Best defender of the match – Ran Singh (Jaipur Pink Panthers)
TVS Type moment of the match – Rajesh Narwal (Jaipur Pink Panthers)
The Gionee Marathon Man of the MAT, for maximum time on court if the fully charged – Ran Singh (Jaipur Pink Panthers)
