The brave moment of the match belonged to Haryana’s Bhuvneshwar Gaur who came on as a sub and saved his team from an all out in the 25th minute. Nitin Rawal was the fittest player of the match as he put in a good all-round performance.
Jaipur Pink Panthers registered their first win of Vivo Pro Kabaddi Season VI as they beat Haryana Steelers 36-33. A solid all-round performance by Nitin Rawal aided by Anup Kumar’s crucial tackle points, Jaipur outclassed the opposition after a closely-fought first half. Naveen produced a terrific raiding performance for Haryana and scored 17 points but his effort went in vain. Monu Goyat’s poor start to the tournament continued as he scored just three points in the match. This was Haryana Steelers’ fourth loss of the tournament as their disappointing home leg continued.
Haryana Steelers started off brightly with Monu Goyat and Naveen getting raid points as they led 2-0 after three minutes. Monu Goyat scored another raid point to extend Haryana’s lead to 3-1. Jaipur Pink Panthers were struggling to get their foot in the first five minutes. Captain Anup Kumar scored two quick raid points for Jaipur as they trailed 4-5 after seven minutes.
It was an evenly contested first half with both teams trading tackle and raid points. At no point in the first half, any team led by more than a margin of three points. Monu Goyat after the first two minutes had a disappointing half for Haryana Steelers. There were a lot of empty raids from both sides in the first half and both teams went into the break tied at 12-12.
The second half saw Jaipur Pink Panthers take slight control of the match as they scored four points in four minutes to lead 16-13. Nitin Rawal then scored another raid point for Jaipur as they led 17-13 and reduced Haryana to just two men.
Substitute Bhuvneshwar Gaur scored with a two-point raid in the 25th minute to avert an all out for Haryana Steelers. Haryana avoided another all out as Jaipur defence made a silly error. However, Anup Kumar scored with a two-point raid in the 28th minute as Jaipur inflicted the first all out of the match to lead 23-17.
Things went from bad to worse for Haryana Steelers as Deepak Niwas Hooda came up with a super raid in the 29th minute to give Jaipur Pink Panthers a 10-point lead.
Haryana Steelers tried to mount a comeback and forced a super tackle in the 33rd minute to cut the deficit to seven points. Jaipur Pink Panthers, however, were in no mood to relinquish their advantage.
A terrific super raid by Naveen in the 38th minute saw Haryana Steelers trail 30-34. There were a few nervy moments for Jaipur in the last two minutes but they held their nerve to win 36-33.
In tomorrow’s matches, Bengaluru Bulls will play Tamil Thalaivas while U Mumba will take on Haryana Steelers.