U Mumba and Jaipur Pink Panthers picked up their third win of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) 2024, overcoming a hard-fought battle against Dabang Delhi and UP Yoddhas in Hyderabad.
U Mumba, the winners of the second season of PKL, came out on top with a scoreline of 32-26 at the GMCB Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Amirmohammad Zafardanesh, Manjeet and Rohit Raghav starred for U Mumba to help their team over the line.
It was a fast start from Manjeet and Ashu Malik, with both raiders getting 4 of the first 6 points for U Mumba and Dabang Delhi. respectively.
Amirmohammad Zafardanesh soon joined the party for U Mumba, giving them a two-point lead with a couple of sharp raids halfway through the first half.
The defenders soon took charge though, exchanging blows to make sure they don’t give away any easy points. Yogesh stood tall for Dabang Delhi with 4 points in the first half, while Sunil Kumar and Sombir did the defensive work for U Mumba. The latter gave U Mumba the lead in the last play of the first half, with a strong tackle to close out a closely contested half at 14-13.
U Mumba came flying off the blocks in the second half as Manjeet scored a two-point raid. Amirmohammad Zafardanesh followed that up by inflicting an ALL-OUT to give U-Mumba a 6-point lead.
Dabang Delhi managed a response of their own with their captain leading from the front. Ashu Malik scored a couple of points to reduce the deficit for his side as they looked to fight back.
Rohit Raghav emerged as the hero for U Mumba towards end with crucial exchanges in the second half . The Season 2 champions managed to slow things down in the final stages of the game, protecting a 6-point lead with under four minutes to go.
Dabang Delhi weren’t going to go down without a fight though. Yogesh completed his Super 5, while Ashu Malik completed his Super 10 to cut the gap down to 3 points with under two minutes to go.
With the tension palpable, Manjeet came in clutch for U Mumba in the end, tackling Ashu Malik and following it up with a raid, while Amirmohammad Zafardanesh closed the door on any possibility of a comeback for the Season 8 champions.
Arjun Deshwal joins an elite list of PKL raiders
A double delight was in store for the Jaipur Pink Panthers on Tuesday as their side prevailed over the UP Yoddhas with a tight 33-30 win.
While Neeraj Narwal’s 9 points (7 Raid Points) was the highlight of their performance, it was Arjun Deshwal’s day as he became just the seventh raider to score 1000 Raid Points in PKL History.
It was a slow start to the game for both teams. Jaipur Pink Panthers’ Arjun Deshwal opened the scoring before Gagan Gowda joined the party for the UP Yoddhas.
The teams exchanged points regularly throughout the game, although the Jaipur Pink Panthers were ahead of their opponents for most of the first half. Neeraj Narwal complemented his captain Arjun well throughout, while Reza Mirbagheri and Surjeet Singh commanded the defence.
Despite this, it was the UP Yoddhas who took a two-point lead at the end of the second half, with the score reading 15-17.
This was due to a successful Super Tackle by Sumit to get Arjun off the mat. Bharat Hooda’s four Raid Points and one Tackle Point also aided their efforts, ably supported by Gagan Gowda in the attack and Ashu Singh in the defence.
Jaipur Pink Panthers’ Arjun Deshwal
Super Tackles seemed to be the name of the game for the UP Yoddhas as they first got Neeraj Narwal, and then the dangerous Arjun Deshwal.
However, the UP Yoddhas were playing on fumes since the start of the second half, allowing the Jaipur Pink Panthers to get the first ALL OUT of the game in the 12th minute.
It was Neeraj Narwal to took charge of the raiding department for the Jaipur Pink Panthers. On the other side, Hitesh completed a High 5, which kept his team in the game.
As the match continued to be lop-sided, Arjun Deshwal created his own piece of history as he became the second-fastest raider to 1000 Raid Points, getting Surender Gill with the slightest of touches.
A see-saw game to the very end, Reza Mirbagheri finished the match with a High 5. But it was Ankush Rathee’s successful defense on Surender Gill that effectively sealed a win by just three points for the Jaipur Pink Panthers.