Patna Pirates beat Jaipur Pink Panthers 36-33 in another closely fought match in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 10 at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium here on Monday. (More Kabaddi News)
Arjun Deshwal and Sudhakar M earned Super 10s for their respective teams, but it was the Patna Pirates who worked their way back to extend their unbeaten run to six matches.
Jaipur Pink Panthers, who have already qualified for the playoffs, started on a bright note as they raced to an early lead.
The Patna Pirates, who are in the race to seal their spot in the playoffs, prevented one All Out courtesy of Sudhakar but just before the strategic timeout, he was tackled by Sunil Kumar as the Patna Pirates gave their opponents the three points.
For the Patna Pirates, all eyes were on Sudhakar, who seemed like the bright spot. However, he was not ably supported by his teammates as Jaipur Pink Panthers began to take a decisive lead in the game.
Arjun Deshwal kept the pressure up on his team, and from the other side, it was Sachin who worked hard to get his side into the game as the score read 18-14 at the end of the first half.
The Patna Pirates turned the game almost immediately at the start of the second half, getting the Jaipur Pink Panthers All Out as soon as the second 20 minutes started. This gave the team a lot of confidence, allowing them to level the score.
This did not deter the Jaipur Pink Panthers. Arjun Deshwal reached his Super 10, and 200 raid points in Season 10, before Sachin was trapped in a double thigh hold as the Jaipur Pink Panthers got a Super Tackle to their name.
They recovered from their slow start to the half, staying ahead of their opponents by a single point as the match went into a close battle.
Just when the match seemed to be swaying in one direction, Patna Pirates skipper Sachin stuck to get the Jaipur Pink Panthers All Out and give his team the lead.
This was enough to keep them above the two-time defending champions and seal an important win to boost their chances of reaching the playoffs.
