Jaipur Pink Panthers plot Bengaluru Bulls’ downfall

BETTER PLANNING AND PERFECT EXECUTION of their planned strategy gave Jaipur Pink Panthers a well-deserved 27-25 victory over hosts Bengaluru Bulls at the Kanteerava Stadium on 13th August. The Panthers leap to the third place with 36 points, four more than their rivals in twelve matches. The comeback has brought the Jaipur side in contention for the play-off in Season 2 of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi after four straight losses in the initial stage. They have two matches in hand now.

For Bengaluru it is now a do-or-die situation with three matches left to try and seal the semis berth. A wintomorrow against Dabang Delhi should bring them back on the right track. The strong backing of their supporters only helped them to whittle down the margin and claim a valuable point.

The man who teased and tormented his rivals as well as the crowd was the pint-sized Jaipur raider Jasvir Singh. Known more for his scorpion kicks, he resorted to a cleverly planned strategy which proved to be the difference between the two sides.

Add to that the absence of number one raider Ajay Thakur for almost twenty minutes from the court made matters difficult for the Bulls.  Jaipur were well served by the silent but strong Sonu Narwal. This raider gave them eight points in 19 raids. Ran Singh and Kuldeep provided solidarity in defence for the winners.

As Jaipur successfully employed their plans they were able to inflict the all out at 10-2 and go off for the break at 17-11. The match was tightly contested after the break with both teams specially Bengaluru resorting to quick empty raids to invite the rival raiders for the do-or-die raids. They succeeded to a certain extent with Manjeet, Cheralathan and Joginder Narwal bringing them back from 16-24 to 18-25 with five minutes left. Manjeet and Ajay then brought down the difference to two with an all-out as for once Jasvir miscalculated the do-or-die raid and got out to concede a crucial point.