The Jaipur Pink Panthers beat Haryana Steelers 40-38 in match 12 of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 in Bengaluru on Saturday.
Jaipur Pink Panthers new recruit Arjun Deshwal was the star of the day with 18 points in the match. For Haryana Steelers, captain Vikash Kandola was their best player with 14 raid points despite failing to see his side through in a closely fought encounter.
Earlier in the first half, the Haryana Steelers carried out a fantastic tackle in the fourth minute to take a two-point lead. Moments later, Kandola pulled off a brilliant raid to help the Steelers take a four-point advantage and stretch the lead to 7-3.
The Haryana side then carried out an all-out in the next minute and extended their lead by six points. In the 15th minute of the match, a Super Tackle from the trio of Jaideep, Shrikant Tewthia and Vikash Kandola on Arjun Deshwal helped Haryana Steelers take a five-point lead and take the total to 17-12. The Jaipur Pink Panthers then came back and inflicted an all-out in the last few minutes of the first half although Haryana Steelers went into halftime leading 22-21.
The second half started with both sides going neck-and-neck against each other. In the 24th minute, both Haryana and Jaipur were locked at 26-26 when the Jaipur Panthers broke the shackles and carried out an all-out to stretch the lead to 33-27.
The Steelers tried to fight back with a brilliant tackle and a couple of raids, however, the Jaipur side kept forging forward. Rohit Gulia pulled off a fantastic Super Raid in the last few minutes of the match and reduced Jaipur's lead, however, the Panthers held on to their lead and closed out the match at 40-38.
In the process, Jaipur Pink Panthers registered their first win of the season.
Featured photo: Haryana Steelers
