Gujarat Giants (GG) marched to a terrific win against Jaipur Pink Panthers (JPP) as they ran out winners by 34-27 on Day 2 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) season 8. The seesaw battle was decided in the final five minutes as Gujarat grabbed hold of the contest with nine points in the final five minutes. Arjun Deshwal was the pick of the bunch for Jaipur but ended up on the losing side.
The eighth season of the PKL ongoing in Bangalore saw Jaipur take an early lead of 6-3 in the first five minutes. Deshwal raided with two successful attempts to give the Panthers an early lead. However, the lead evaporated quickly as Gujarat came back roaring in the eighth minute to register first all out of the match, as they sent Jaipur in agony. In a flash, it was 15-7 from 3-6 in favour of Sunil Kumar’s side. A revival did happen for Jaipur as they went into the halftime break trailing 17-19.
The second half though was battled closely as teams showed a pragmatic approach and were content to not give away any points. Rakesh Narwal, on the other hand, was in full swing as he earned seven points in the match with both tackles and raids. He had five successful raids in the match as his performance proved decisive.
The second half saw Jaipur make a mini-comeback as they even took the lead with Deepak Hooda and Sandeep Dhull being the architect. Captain Hooda was successful with four raids as they had Gujarat where they wanted but failed to consolidate. With 10 minutes to go, it was the team from Pink City that was leading.
The final five minutes prove decisive
The teams were all square at 25-25 with six minutes to go, but the screws were turned in the final five minutes. Girish Maruti’s seven defensive tackles, in the end, turned out to be the difference-maker as he along with Parvesh Bhainswal were the fulcrum of the win. An all-out for Jaipur coupled with the loss of concentration saw them end on the losing side. Losing the review also saw them lose a point with just a couple of minutes left.
Another highlight of the match was Gujarat coach Manpreet Singh who was shown a green card in the second half for showing over aggression. Next for Gujarat will be battle against Bengal Warriors on Friday (December 24) while Jaipur take on Haryana Steelers on Saturday (December 25).
