The Jaipur Pink Panthers defeated the Bengal Warriorz 45-41 in a thrilling match at the SMS Indoor Stadium on Thursday. The hosts moved up to fourth place on the points table thanks to Super 10s from Nitin Kumar and Ali Samadi.
The Season 7 champions were unable to cross the finish line despite Devank Dalal and Manprit Pardeep recording their eighth consecutive Super 10 and Ashish Malik recording a High Five.
In just 38 games, Devank became the fastest raider to 400 raid points, securing the game’s first raid and setting a new record. Although the Warriorz skipper was on a roll and gave his team a three-point lead in the first exchanges, Nitin Kumar opened the account for the Jaipur Pink Panthers.
But the home team immediately equalized the score at 6-6 with a Super Tackle by Aashish Kumar on Devank and a rapid raid by Nitin Kumar. The Jaipur Pink Panthers then took a four-point lead after a two-point raid from Ali Samadi, capping an intense first quarter at 12-8.
With an ALL OUT to increase their lead to six points, the Pink Panthers gradually started to establish their supremacy. The two-time winners led 24–18 at the half thanks to four tackles from Aashish Kumar and Nitin Kumar, who finished with his sixth Super 10 of the season.
Aryan Kumar’s tackle gave the home team another ALL OUT, increasing their advantage to nine points, while the Warriorz had just one player on the mat at the start of the second half. Even though Bengal Warriorz gained some momentum, Ali Samadi maintained his offensive presence and helped the team maintain a seven-point lead.
Before Nitin Rawal’s Super Tackle made sure the Jaipur Pink Panthers did not become complacent, Manprit Pardeep and Devank briefly reduced the margin to six points. With less than ten minutes remaining, Ashish Malik helped the Warriorz stay within striking distance by tackling Nitin Kumar during a Do-Or-Die raid.
With less than five minutes remaining in the game, the Bengal Warriorz found a glimmer of hope when Ashish Malik recorded a High Five and Devank Dalal completed another Super 10 to give the Jaipur Pink Panthers an ALL OUT.
The Iranian pair for the Jaipur Pink Panthers put an end to any chance of a comeback with the game on the line. Ali Samadi completed his first Super 10 after Reza Mirbagheri tackled Devank and then went on to make a spectacular four-point Super Raid. That ultimately proved to be the difference between the two teams in this intense match, with the Jaipur Pink Panthers winning 45–41.
