Deepak Niwas Hooda led by example as Jaipur Pink Panthers held the in-form Haryana Steelers to a 32-all draw in their Pro-Kabaddi League fixture at the Netaji Indoor Stadium on Wednesday.
Eyeing a sixth successive win, Haryana Steelers got off to a solid start and led by four points at half time, but Hooda came up with 14 raid points from 22 attempts to help the Jaipur outfit salvage a draw.
In fact, Jaipur will rue their missed chances as they held a one-point lead with less than a minute left on the clock.
But a final minute blunder by Jaipur's Sachin Narwal handed Steelers a point as they squandered a great opportunity move to the fifth spot.
At second place, Haryana now have 49 points, 10 less than Dabang Delhi from 14 matches, while Jaipur are outside top-six with 41 points.
The teams went into the match with contrasting forms as Haryana were on a roll with five wins, while Pink Panthers had lost four games on the trot.
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Jaipur started the match brightly as Pink Panthers had to rely on Hooda's raiding prowess and the captain secured seven raid points in the first-half.
The Pink Panthers inflicted an All-Out on the Steelers in the 16th minute to open a six-point gap.
Haryana bounced back with the help of raider Vikas Kandola who was ably supported by Prashanth Kumar Rai.
Kandola's five-point raid in the dying minutes of the first-half gave the Steelers their first All-Out of the match and brought about a change in momentum.
The first half ended with Haryana leading Jaipur 18-14.
Haryana maintained their dominance in the second-half, with Vinay also taking up the raiding duties.
Pink Panthers' lack of quality support raiders for Deepak Hooda hurt them badly as Haryana's defence held firm.
Ravi Kumar picked up a High 5 for Haryana but Deepak Hooda produced a series of successful raids to make it three-point game going into the final minutes.
Hooda also secured a Super 10 and secured a personal milestone of 800 raid points in the process.
The Pink Panthers' teamwork helped them clinch another All-Out with four minutes left on the clock to make it a nervous end to the match for both sides.