In an engaging encounter at the SMS Indoor Stadium, Jaipur Pink Panthers registered a 45-41 victory against the Bengal Warriorz on Thursday. Nitin Kumar and Ali Samadi recorded Super 10s for the hosts to help them climb to fourth place on the points table.
Meanwhile, Devank Dalal notched his seventh straight Super 10 alongside Manprit Pardeep, while Ashish Malik also registered a High Five, but that wasn’t enough for the Season 7 champions to get over the line.
Devank secured the first raid of the game, reaching a milestone by becoming the fastest raider to 400 raid points, achieving the feat in just 38 games. Nitin Kumar opened Jaipur Pink Panthers’ account, but it was the Warriorz captain who was on a roll, giving his team a three-point lead in the early exchanges.
However, the hosts responded quickly with Aashish Kumar’s Super Tackle on Devank, followed by a swift raid from Nitin Kumar to level the score at 6-6. A two-point raid from Ali Samadi then helped the Jaipur Pink Panthers open up a four-point lead, ending a high-octane first quarter at 12-8.
The Pink Panthers slowly began to assert their dominance, inflicting an All Out to extend their lead to six points. Nitin Kumar completed his sixth Super 10 of the season, while Aashish Kumar added four tackles in the first half, giving the two-time champions a convincing 24-18 lead at halftime.
With the Warriorz having only one player on the mat to begin the second half, the hosts inflicted another All Out courtesy a tackle from Aryan Kumar, further extending their lead to nine points. Ali Samadi continued to make his presence felt on the offensive end as well, keeping a seven-point lead intact despite Bengal Warriorz finding some momentum.
Manprit Pardeep and Devank momentarily cut the deficit down to six points before a Super Tackle from Nitin Rawal ensured Jaipur Pink Panthers do not get complacent. Ashish Malik contributed in defence for the Warriorz, tackling Nitin Kumar on a Do-Or-Die raid to keep his side within striking distance with under ten minutes to go.
Bengal Warriorz found a glimmer of hope as Devank Dalal completed another Super 10 and Ashish Malik recorded a High Five to inflict an All Out on the Jaipur Pink Panthers, making it a three-point game with under five minutes to play.
With the game on the line, the Iranian duo for Jaipur Pink Panthers shut the door on any possibility of a comeback. First, Reza Mirbagheri tackled Devank, and then Ali Samadi followed it up with a sensational four-point Super Raid, also completing his maiden Super 10 in the process.
That in the end proved to be the difference between the two sides in this high-scoring thriller as Jaipur Pink Panthers clinched a 45-41 victory.