Hyderabad: A knee injury to in-form raider Surender Gill in the initial stages of the match perhaps became too much to overcome in the end as UP Yoddhas, the GMR Group owned franchise representing the state of Uttar Pradesh, went down to the Jaipur Pink Panthers 29-42 in match 87 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season Nine, here at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium. Both teams have now played 15 matches and while the Jaipur team cemented their third position on the table with 53 points, the UP Yoddhas also remained at fourth with 45 points to their kitty.
The Jaipur Pink Panthers began the match in whirlwind fashion and displayed excellent defensive skills to run up a 10-point lead inside the first 10 minutes itself. UP Yoddhas were also inflicted with their first All Out in that time and it did not help that Surender had to leave the match with injury and their other star raider Pardeep Narwal, was taking time to get into the groove of things.
The Pink Panthers’ defensive performance continued in the first half, which ended 22-10 in their favour, with as many as eight tackle points among them.
A second All Out was inflicted on the UP Yoddhas right after the break and the lead extended to 14 with the scores reading 26-11 in the Jaipur Pink Panthers favour.
The UP Yoddhas then provided a semblance of a fightback led by yet another Super 10 effort by Pardeep Narwal. They also managed to inflict an All Out on the Pink Panthers and with over seven minutes remaining, the lead was brought down to 12 points.
However, that would turn out to be the best phase of the match for the UP Yoddhas as Arjun Deshwal with 19 raid points in the match for the Jaipur Pink Panthers, ensured that his team faced no surprises. Pardeep Narwal for UP Yoddhas finished with 14 raid points.
