Chennai, Oct 1 Jaipur Pink Panthers completed a remarkable turnaround to clinch a thrilling 37-36 victory against Haryana Steelers in a Season 12 match of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the SDAT Multi Purpose Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday.
The defending champions had a lead of ten points at one stage, before the Narender Redhu-led side roared back to script a sensational turnaround, registering a mammoth 17 points in the final quarter.
Sahil Satpal and Ali Samadi stepped up with seven and six points respectively, while Aryan Kumar and Deepanshu Khatri had four tackle points each. For Haryana Steelers, Vinay’s Super 10 and Rahul Sethpal’s High Five failed to get them over the line. It was also revenge for Pink Panthers head coach Narender Redhu, who lost to Haryana Steelers and Manpreet Singh in the final of PKL 11 as the head coach of Patna Pirates.
It was an imposing start from the defending champions, with Vinay opening the scoring and Neeraj Kumar following it up with a tackle on Nitin Kumar. Deepanshu Khatri struck back for the Jaipur Pink Panthers, bringing down Vinay, before Ali Samadi showcased his offensive prowess. The Steelers soon began to impose themselves on the game, though.
Vinay executed a successful Do-or-Die raid to give his side a three-point lead, and Rahul Ahri followed it up with another tackle on Nitin Kumar, keeping him quiet in the opening exchanges. Shivam Patare then registered a couple of two-point raids, giving his side a 10-4 lead after the opening ten minutes.
The Jaipur Pink Panthers showed resilience, fighting back with a couple of Super Tackles to cut the deficit to three points at 11-8. However, Ashish Narwal halted their momentum, proving to be a menace on the raiding end. The Haryana Steelers eventually registered the first All Out of the game courtesy of a tackle by Rahul Sethpal, helping them retain a seven-point lead at halftime, with the score at 20-13.
The Steelers began the second half much like they did in the first, with Vinay opening the scoring for them. Rahul Sethpal also recorded his third tackle of the night, giving his side some breathing room. The Pink Panthers roared back with Aryan Kumar securing a Super Tackle and following it up with another tackle to keep his team within striking distance.
With the tempo slowing down, Jaipur Pink Panthers slowly but steadily found their way back with the scoreline at 24-20. Deepanshu Khatri and Sahil kept the scoreboard ticking before the defending champions shut the door again. Rahul Sethpal completed his High Five, giving his side a six-point lead (26-20) heading into the final quarter.
It was a tussle between these two sides in the final 10 minutes, with neither of them taking a step back in this engaging clash. The Steelers were clinging on with the score at 30-26, but Ali Samadi and Sahil Satpal soon found some momentum for the Pink Panthers. The latter went on a spree to help his side cut the deficit down to a point with a two-point raid with under a minute to go.
The Steelers were trying to play to the clock with time running out, but the Jaipur Pink Panthers were having none of it. Nitin Rawal came in with a clutch tackle – his first of the game – on Vinay to execute an All Out on the defending champions, turning the tables in his team’s favour to give them a one-point lead.
In the final raid of the game, Vinay managed to register a bonus point before being tackled by Deepanshu to give the two-time champions a thrilling comeback win in the final minute of the match.
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