Arjun Deshwal reigns supreme as Jaipur Pink Panthers devour UP Yoddhas

PUNE: Defending champions Jaipur Pink Panthers gave an incredible account of themselves as they stormed to a 41-24 triumph over U.P Yoddhas in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 10 match at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex on Wednesday. Arjun Deshwal got back to his scoring ways as he finished with 13 points.

Both teams got off to a cautious start, with the Panthers narrowly leading 6-5 after the first 10 minutes. And then the Panthers got going - Arjun made light work of the Yoddhas’ defence and Panthers’ captain Sunil Kumar produced a brilliant tackle on Vijay Malik to bag an all-out in the 14th minute.

The Panthers raced to an 11-6 lead and went on to seize control of the game.

Arjun got rid of four defenders in as many raids and a couple of sharp tackles saw the Panthers inflict a second all-out within four minutes. The scoreline read 20-7 in the Panthers’ favour and the Yoddhas were completely undone.

The defending champs went into the break with a 15-point lead at 24-9 and they were in complete control of the match.

The Yoddhas gained momentum in the second half via two superb tackles from Gurdeep and a burst of pace from Pardeep Narwal offered them hope.

The record breakers scored points in four successive raids, the last of which saw him get past Ashish and toss aside Lucky Sharma to claim an all-out. The deficit was cut down to eight points and the Panthers led 28-20.

But the score difference was too much for the Yoddhas to catch up to, despite their defence shaping up better.

The game was put to rest when Arjun produced a mindblowing super raid in the final minute of the game, which also led to a third all-out for the Panthers.

That final raid saw Arjun pick up his third Super 10 of the season and gave the Panthers a massive 17-point victory. This is their third win of the season.