Jaipur Pink Panthers defeated table topper Dabang Delhi for the second time this season, while Tamil Thalaivas thrashed Telugu Titans to enter top five in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL 8) on Thursday.
In the first match of the evening, Deepak Hooda was the star for Jaipur Pink Panthers as it beat Dabang Delhi K.C. 36-30. The star raider clinched a Super 10 (12 points) and was supported well by his team’s defence. The win made it two in two attempts for the Season 1 champion which will slowly feel confident about clinching a Playoff spot.
Dabang Delhi’s disorganised defence was the main reason for its downfall. Experienced stars Manjeet Chhillar, Jeeva Kumar and Joginder Narwal had very little effect on the match. They got just seven tackle points in the entire match (which included two Super Tackles). All-rounder Sandeep Narwal also had a poor outing, making errors in the defence and not involving in the raids. Vijay was the sole performer with 16 points.
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Naveen Kumar was back for Delhi after a lengthy injury layoff, but it was his raiding partner Vijay who impressed in the early minutes. In fact, he was the only bright spot for Delhi as Jaipur raiders Deepak Hooda and Arjun Deshwal picked up easy points. Delhi’s balance in defence seemed to have been affected by Naveen’s comeback and Jaipur was quick to make the most of it.
Two Super Tackles close to the 10th minute helped Delhi level the points with Jaipur. But the Panthers eventually went on to clinch an All Out in the 16th minute to open a four-point lead. The Jaipur defenders didn’t allow Naveen Kumar any chance to settle, and Delhi substituted him for Neeraj Narwal close to the interval. The first half ended 21-15 with Jaipur in a comfortable lead.
Naveen Kumar continued to be benched in the second half as Vijay took over the lead raider duty for Delhi. He crossed his Super 10 as Dabang Delhi started aggressively chasing Jaipur. But despite Delhi’s best attempts, it could not cut short Jaipur’s seven-point lead. All-rounder Sachin Narwal and substitute Nitin Rawal helped Jaipur extend the lead to 10 points.
Deepak Hooda clinched his Super 10 as Jaipur maintained the gap in the dying minutes. Vijay tried his best to draw Delhi closer with his raids and ensured Dabang lost the match with a margin of just six points.
- Tamil Thalaivas enters top five after beating Telugu Titans -
In the second match of the evening, Right corner Sagar clinched nine tackle points as he helped Tamil Thalaivas thrash Telugu Titans 43-25. Sagar needed very little help from his teammates as he single-handedly kept the Titans raiders quiet in the Southern Derby. Sahil Gulia in the left corner picked up four points while raiders Ajinkya Pawar (10 points) and Manjeet (nine points) excelled in the one-sided victory.
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Telugu Titans was once again without sufficient quality across the mat. The absence of Siddharth Desai and Rajnish cost it dearly as it remained with just one win in the season. Thalaivas’ win, its second in as many matches, will give it much-needed confidence in its pursuit of a playoff spot.
Defence dominated the early minutes of the Southern Derby with both sides not giving an inch. The Telugu Titans, despite just having one win in the season so far, was in no mood to let Thalaivas settle. Sandeep Kandola and Akash Choudhary were cautious in the corners for the Titans while Sagar was insatiable in the Thalaivas’ left corner. The game shifted its balance towards the Thalaivas in the 15th minute when Manjeet scored a three-point Super Raid. That helped Thalaivas clinch an All Out and open an eight-point lead. Things got worse for the Titans which saw their captain Rohit Kumar limp out with a suspected knee injury. By the end of the first half, Thalaivas raced to a 12-point lead with the scores 22-10.
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Sagar raced to a High 5 as Tamil Thalaivas slowed the pace of the match in the second half. It knew the pressure was on the Titans to chase and the Thalaivas raiders played for the Do-or-Die raids. Rohit Kumar continued to be on the mat despite visible discomfort to his knee. The pressure put by Tamil Thalaivas worked well for the team as it forced Titans to commit unnecessary mistakes. Sagar moved to 7 tackle points as the team from Chennai opened a 14-point gap with 10 minutes on the clock.
Thalaivas got their second All Out with five minutes to increase the lead to 20 points. Ajinkya Pawar clinched his Super 10 and Sagar moved to nine tackle points in the final minutes as the Thalaivas went on to seal the victory in the Southern Derby.
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