FACE2NEWS/PUNE
An inspired and captivating performance by two teams that left everything on the mat saw the Jaipur Pink Panthers triumph over U Mumba 42-39 at the Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi in Pune on Monday. Arjun Deshwal's 15 raid points and Ankush's 5 tackle points helped them register a hard-fought victory.
A riotous first half kicked off among a flurry of points, both teams exchanging them constantly. Arjun Deshwal's super raid on Surinder Singh, Rinku and Jai Bhagwan in the opening minutes put Mumba under pressure. Soon enough the Pink Panthers had inflicted the first all out to take a 9-1 lead.
From there U Mumba built their way back into the game. a super raid by Mumba's Heidarali Ekrami on Ankush, Rahul Chaudhari, Sahul Kumar drew them closer and then a few minutes from halftime, they got their first all out to draw level at 17-17. A frenzied last minute saw the teams trade points as the Pink Panthers went into the break leading 20-19.
In the second half Mumba's defenders upped the game and slowly rushed into a massive lead. With another all out looming, the Pink Panthers defenders Ankush and Lucky Sharma thought they had got themselves a super tackle only for Ashish to slip out and inflict another all out as Mumba took a 27-22 lead.
The game though was far from over. Jaipur inflicted another all out to retake the lead 34-33 and with five minutes remaining, the game had everyone on edge. In the end, despite U Mumba's late surge the Pink Panthers kept moving ahead and eventually walked off the mat as winners of the match.