Pro Kabaddi League 2023: Jaipur Pink Panthers and Bengal Warriors play first tie of PKL season 10
Bhavani Rajput recorded a Super 10 for the Jaipur Pink Panthers while Shrikant Jadhav top-scored for the Bengal Warriors with seven points in the match. The match ended 28-28.
Ahmedabad: Jaipur Pink Panthers and the Bengal Warriors played out a highly entertaining 28-28 draw – the first of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) 2023 – at TransStadia’s EKA Arena on Thursday. Bhavani Rajput recorded a Super 10 for the Jaipur Pink Panthers. Meanwhile, Shrikant Jadhav top-scored for the Bengal Warriors with seven points in the match.
Jaipur Pink Panthers got off to a great start and didn’t let the Warriors get a point in the opening minutes of the match. It took Shrikant Jadhav’s trickery in a do-or-die attack to get the Warriors on board. From then on, the Warriors continually kept the Pink Panthers’ numbers down on the mat, continually recording points.
Numbers, however, didn’t matter to the Pink Panthers. Their defense led by Ankush registered three super tackles in a row in the first half to ensure they kept the lead at the break. So dominant was the Pink Panthers’ defensive unit that it contributed 8 tackle points to their total as they led 13-9 at half-time.
To the Warriors’ credit, they were not deterred by the Panthers’ defensive unit and continued to attack without abandon. They got their reward early in the second half, creating the first all-out of the match to take a 16-13 lead.
Once again the Pink Panthers got going and in the final ten minutes the teams were locked at 20 points apiece. They became inseparable as the clock ticked, one attack following another.
A series of decisions made by a hair’s breadth ensured that the two teams would remain level with a minute to play. At the very end, Shrikant Jadhav thought he had won with ten seconds to play, but Bhawani Rajput scored a raid point straight afterwards.
Warriors captain Maninder Singh was happy to launch an empty attack only to settle for a draw in the end.