Noida, Nov 16 (UNI) Jaipur Pink Panthers delivered a superb team performance to get over the line against Gujarat Giants with a scoreline of 32-24 at the Noida Indoor Stadium here.
The raiding trio of Arjun Deshwal, Neeraj Narwal, and Shrikant Jadhav, combined with Reza Mirbagheri’s defensive prowess secured the win for the two-time champions despite a Super 10 from Gujarat Giants’ Guman Singh on Friday night.
Jaipur Pink Panthers’ captain Arjun Deshwal, who scored 9 points in the game, also became the third raider to breach the 100-point mark so far in PKL Season 11.
It was an intriguing start to the game as Jaipur Pink Panthers and Gujarat Giants were fairly cautious to begin this contest. It was the two captains, Arjun Deshwal and Guman Singh, who were going toe-to-toe in the early exchanges.
In an evenly matched contest, it was Guman Singh’s Do-or-Die Raid that kept the score at seven points each after the first quarter of the game.
The Gujarat Giants captain was running the show for his side, scoring six out of their 12 points in the first half.
Despite Arjun Deshwal being relatively quiet, Jaipur Pink Panthers held on to a slender lead courtesy of Neeraj Narwal and Shrikant Jadhav contributing with some raids.
Reza Mirbagheri made his presence felt on the defensive end for Jaipur Pink Panthers, who kept their noses in front with a one-point lead with the scoreline at 13-12 at the end of the first half in this closely contested battle.
The second half started off in a similar manner before Rakesh executed a Do-or-Die Raid for Gujarat Giants, levelling the score in the opening exchanges of the second half.
Jaipur Pink Panthers got the biggest lead of the game, creating a three-point gap as Arjun Deshwal and Neeraj Narwal kept up the good work on the attacking end.
Jaipur Pink Panthers eventually grabbed the bull by its horn in a manic three-minute passage, inflicting an All-Out on Gujarat Giants. That gave the two-time champions a nine-point lead and something to hold on to in the final phase of the game.
Guman Singh did his best to try and close the gap for a comeback, but Jaipur Pink Panthers weren’t going to throw their lead away.
Arjun Deshwal and Neeraj Narwal kept chipping away as Jaipur Pink Panthers ran down the clock, closing any window of a potential comeback for Gujarat Giants.
Guman Singh did complete his Super 10, but it wasn’t enough for his team as Jaipur Pink Panthers emerged victorious by a margin of eight points.
