Jaipur Pink Panthers held their nerve in the closing minutes to edge past UP Yoddha 24-22 in an exhilarating match of the in the Pro Kabaddi League here at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium last evening.
It was an all-round team performance as both teams could've won it but Jaipur were calm and composed to beat their opponents.
Nitin Tomar scored with a raid point in the second minute as UP Yoddha opened their account. Tushar Patil scored two points as Jaipur led 5-3 after four minutes. Jasvir Singh scored a raid point in the eighth minute as Jaipur Pink Panthers led 7-4. UP Yoddha came back strongly as they leveled the game at 8-8 after 12 minutes.
Both teams scrambled for points and went neck to neck in the first half. Tushar Patil and Jasvir Singh were among the scorers for Jaipur in the first half whereas Nitin Tomar was the lone ranger for UP Yodhha as they led 11-10 at the end of the first half.
The second-half began with Jaipur Pink Panthers leveling the game at 11-11 in the 21st minute . Rajesh Narwal scored with a raid point in the 23rd minute as UP Yoddha led 13-12. Narwal was shown a green card in the 25th minute. A slew of empty raids followed by both teams as both teams were tied at 15-15 after 29 minutes.
Rishank Devadiga made a successful raid in the 31st minute as UP Yoddha 18-15. It was a low scoring second half as both teams played defensively. With less than ten minutes to go both teams were tied at 15-15.
Mahesh Goud made a successful raid in the 37th minute to give UP Yoddha 19-18 lead. But Nitan Rawal responded with raid point to tie the game at 19-19. In the 38th minute, Jaipur led 21-19. UP Yoddha leveled the game in the 39th minute at 21-21. Jaipur Pink Panthers scored three points in the last two minutes to win the match at 24-22.
It should be noted that the Yoddhas' are yet to pick up their first win on home soil after three games.
Pink Panthers are currently standing at the fourth spot in Group A after clinching three wins from five games, while Yoddhas are placed at the second spot in Group B despite winning just three games out of eight matches they have played so far.
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