Panchkula: An inspired Pawan Sehrawat was not enough for the Telugu Titans who went down to the Jaipur Pink Panthers 44-51 at the Tau Devi Lal Indoor Stadium in Panchkula, Haryana, on Friday. Sehrawat logged an incredible 22 points, 17 on the raid and five tackling, and yet was let down by a disjointed team in the evening.
As has been the norm this season Arjun Deshwal logged 16 raid points for the Pink Panthers to help them a hard-fought victory. Contrary to expectations, and form, the Titans made a rapid start to the game and within two raids, Pawan Sehrawat had the Pink Panthers already depleted on the mat. A Super Tackle at a crucial moment staved off the all-out for a time, but Sehrawat did not let up and soon enough they inflicted the first All-Out of the game to streak into a lead.
The Pink Panthers rallied after that to briefly draw level, but a second All-Out inflicted by the Titans extended them into a three-point lead which they consolidated almost immediately. Sehrawt’s Super Raid to take out Ashish, Abhishek K.S. and Sunil Kumar put the Pink Panthers on the ropes, and the Titans went into the break leading 28-20.
The Pink Panthers hit back early in the second half and inflicted an All-Out of their own to claw back the lead. Deshwal’s Super Raid to take out Ankit and Milad Jabbari seemed to have turned the momentum in favour of the defending champions, but the Titans did not let up.
An end-to-end contest saw the Pink Panthers hold a one-point lead going into the final five minutes of the game, albeit with fewer numbers on the mat. With one minute of the game left, Abhijeet Malik’s Super Raid to take out Shankar Gadai, Ankit and Milad Jabbari set up another All-Out that effectively wrapped up the game.
The young raider’s five-point raid put a massive nine-point gap between the sides. The Titans cut the lead down a bit in the end, but the Pink Panthers wrapped up a deserved victory.
–IANS