Vivo Pro Kabaddi: Jaipur Pink Panthers edge past Tamil Thalaivas

CHENNAI: Jaipur Pink Panthers scored a nervy 27-26 win over Tamil Thalaivas in their Vivo Pro Kabaddi League season 5 inter-zone clash at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor stadium here on Saturday night. The architect of Jaipur's win was raider Tushar Patil who led the show with 7 points and was well-supported by teammate Pawan Kumar who had 5 points to his name.
It was a game where fortunes fluctuated from one end to another, but the visitors did enjoy a slender lead for the majority of the match.Jaipur were successful in keeping Thalaivas skipper Ajay Thakur at bay. However, Ajay did manage to score 13 points but he couldn't bring his side's 'A' game to the table. Thalaivas, with this loss, will stay in bottom of Zone B with 33 points from 15 games while Jaipur have 43 in their kitty from 14 outings in Zone A.
In the opening 11 minutes of the contest, Jaipur had raced to an 8-5 lead over their opponents. Skipper Ajay's raid in the 14th minute helped Thalaivas level their opponents at 11 points apiece. Despite Ajay scoring 9 raid points, it was Jaipur who had their noses in front with a 17-15 lead after the first half.
In the second half, Jaipur kept up the pressure on the opponents and walked away with a much-needed win.
Pune edge past Yoddha 34-33
In a match that went right down to the wire, Puneri Paltan held their nerve to prevail over UP Yoddha 34-33. The opening match of the evening saw Paltan's skipper Deepak Hooda being the star of the show with 17 raid points that included three super raids, while Rishank Devadiga and Nitin Tomar shone with 9 and 8 points respectively for the Yoddha.
The first half saw both teams go for broke. While Paltan's Deepak Hooda -- who scored 9 points in that half -- performed two super raids, Yoddha's Nitin Tomar had one super raid to his name. Paltan did peak in the right time and inflicted an 'all out' on Yoddha to enjoy an 18-14 lead at the end of the opening half.
In the subsequent half, Deepak upped the ante with a super raid in the very second minute to help Paltan seize a 22-14 lead. However, Yoddha kept themselves in the hunt thanks to Rishank's raids. In the dying moments, Paltan pulled things back to register a narrow win. "I felt our defence faltered in the closing stages of the match, and that's one area we need to tighten up. Having said that, it was a well-earned win for us," said Deepak, after the match.