Jaipur Pink Panthers beat Puneri Paltan in final to become Season 9 champions

Jaipur Pink Panthers and Puneri Paltan played out a high-octane final, but the former ensured that they stayed in the lead for most of the match and eventually won 33-29 to emerge as champions of vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 9 at the Dome, NSCI SVP Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday. V Ajith Kumar, Sunil Kumar and Arjun Deshwal emerged as the best players for Jaipur Pink Panthers with 6 points each on the night.

Pankaj Mohite pulled off a brilliant raid in the opening minutes of the match as Puneri Paltan inched ahead at 3-1. However, the Panthers fought back and levelled the score at 3-3. But Gaurav Khatri tackled Arjun Deshwal and helped Puneri Paltan regain the lead at 5-4 in the 9th minute. 

Thereafter, V Ajith Kumar stepped up his game as the Panthers levelled the score at 6-6. Both sides played out a neck and neck contest until Mohammad Nabibakhsh picked up a raid and a tackle point in quick succession and helped Puneri Paltan take the lead at 10-8 in the 16th minute. However, V Ajith Kumar caught out Sanket Sawant and Gaurav Khatri to help the Panthers get in front at 12-10 in the 19th minute. The Panthers managed to hold the lead at 14-12 on the stroke of half-time.

The Panthers then tackled Aditya Shinde and inflicted an All-Out in the 22nd minute to take a substantial lead at 18-13. However, Akash Shinde pulled off a multi-point raid and Puneri Paltan tackled V Ajith Kumar soon after to get within touching distance of the Panthers’ score at 17-18. But Ankush tackled Akash Shinde and helped the Panthers extend their lead further. However, soon after Aditya Shinde caught out Ankush and Sahul Kumar to keep Puneri Paltan in the game at 20-23.

But the Panthers’ captain Sunil Kumar pulled off a couple of brilliant tackle points as they continued to stay in the lead at 27-22 in the 34th minute. However, Puneri Paltan didn't give up and tackled Deshwal in the 38th minute and stayed in the contest at 25-29. 

Thereafter, Badal Singh tackled V Ajith Kumar and Aditya Shinde effected a raid, but Puneri Paltan still couldn't find a way to level the score as the Panthers led at 31-29 in the dying minutes of the game. The Panthers then played their cards perfectly in the final seconds of the match and clinched their second vivo Pro Kabaddi title.

Top Performers

Jaipur Pink Panthers

Best Raider - Arjun Deshwal (6 Raid Points)

Best Defender - Sunil Kumar (5 Tackle Points)

Puneri Paltan

Best Raider - Aditya Shinde (5 Raid Points)

Best Defender - Abinesh Nadarajan (4 Tackle Points)

Where to watch vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 9 LIVE?

Catch all the LIVE action from vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 9 on the Star Sports Network and LIVE streaming on Disney+Hotstar.