Jaipur Pink Panthers beat Puneri Paltan to secure first home win

Jaipur Pink Panthers ended their nine-match winless streak in vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 7 after a 43-34 victory over Puneri Paltan at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday. Deepak Hooda and Deepak Narwal registered Super 10s for Jaipur Pink Panthers, as they secured their first win at home this season.

The hosts started positively with their raiding trio of skipper Hooda, Narwal and Nilesh Salunke giving Puneri Paltan’s defence a tough time. Amit Hooda and Sandeep Dhull were also active and contributing for them in defence as Jaipur Pink Panthers capped off a good collective team performance in the first quarter of the match to enforce an All-Out and take a 13-6 lead.

Puneri Paltan played with more aggression after the All-Out and did manage to score points more freely than earlier. However, Hooda and Salunke continued to thrive against Puneri Paltan’s defence. They kept scoring raid points for the team regularly to ensure Jaipur Pink Panthers had their seven-point lead intact as they went into the break with a 20-13 lead.

The Maharashtra-based outfit though began the second period with more intent and purpose than the hosts and dominated the first six minutes. In-form raider Pankaj Mohite was unstoppable while raiding in that period and Puneri Paltan’s defence also played their role as they hit back by inflicting an All-Out on the home side to reduce Jaipur Pink Panthers’ lead to 23-21.

Just when it looked like the momentum was on Puneri Paltan’s side, Jaipur Pink Panthers’ raiders stepped up and seized the initiative. Successful raids by Hooda, Narwal and Salunke meant Mohite’s successful raids were being nullified, while also ensuring that Jaipur Pink Panthers had a six-point lead to protect heading into the final six minutes of the encounter.

Any chance of a Puneri Paltan comeback were put to bed four and a half minutes from fulltime when Jaipur Pink Panthers inflicted a second All-Out to take a 37-26 lead and put the result beyond dispute. They continued to keep the scoreboard ticking till the final whistle and eventually won by nine points to end their search for a first home win.

Top Performers:

Jaipur Pink Panthers –

Best Raider – Deepak Hooda (11 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Amit Hooda (4 Tackle Points)

Puneri Paltan –

Best Raider – Pankaj Mohite (12 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Pankaj Mohite (2 Tackle Points)