Pune: Patna Pirates defeated the Jaipur Pink Panthers 37-30 in the final game of the evening in the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 9 at the Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi here on Friday, with this win, extending their unbeaten streak to six.
Sachin (8 points), Rohit Gulia (9 points) and all-rounder Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh (5 points) were the star performers for Patna Pirates in their victory.
In the opening stages, both teams matched each other point-for-point, almost every raid resulting in high-octane action. The difference was in the variety.
While the Pirates’ points came through the combination of Rohit Gulia and Sachin, the Pink Panthers were reliant solely on the raids of Arjun Deshwal, who scored almost all their raid points in the half.
The breakthrough came with about seven minutes left, Chiyaneh’s tackle on Deshwal reducing Jaipur to two men and staring at an All-Out.
They avoided it twice, the first a Super Tackle by Ankush on Sachin which looked to have sparked a resurgence. Unfortunately, though the Pirates refused to let go of the stranglehold and finally the All-Out came with Chiyaneh’s tackle on Ajith Kumar as they took the lead at 15-12. Eventually, the Pirates went into the break leading 20-13.
The Pink Panthers rallied in the second half and within minutes had the Pirates in trouble. Duly, they inflicted a first All Out of their own soon after, snatching a 23-21 lead.
That all out galvanized the Pirates, reminding them of Jaipur’s strength on the bench. Buoyed by Gulia and Sachin, they kept picking up points and their defence backed their raiders as well.
They got their second All-Out soon after, surging this time into a 32-25 lead. The Pirates kept raging on and eventually walked off the mat as winners of the match.
–IANS
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