PKL 2018: Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Dabang Delhi KC, Chandran Ranjit and K Selvamani shine in a thrilling tie
The final day of the Panchkula leg of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 6 saw the home side Jaipur Pink Panthers take on Dabang Delhi KC at the Tau Devilal Sports Complex in Haryana.
Jaipur Pink Panthers came into this match on the back of a close loss last night against the Zone A table-toppers Gujarat Fortune Giants taking the match to the final raid. Deepak Niwas Hooda and co aimed to end the home leg on a positive note with a win over their fellow North Indian rivals Dabang Delhi KC.
The Delhi side, on the other hand, secured qualification to the playoffs stage last week and had four wins in their previous five matches. They rested a few key players tonight and tested their bench strength fielding a young side on the mat to give them some game exposure ahead of the playoffs.
The first half saw the Dabang Delhi KC side start on a strong note not allowing the home side to score for the first five minutes of the match. The Jaipur did well to come back in the game with two Super Tackles from their left corner Sandeep Kumar Dhull to level things on the scoreboard.
Delhi got the all-out despite good resistance from the Jaipur defence as Chandran Ranjit put in a couple of strong raids. K Selvamani was impactful off the bench for Jaipur and Ajinkya Pawar did well to cut back the deficit as the first half ended 18-17 in favour of the Dabang Delhi KC side.
Pawan Kumar Kadian put in a stellar Super Raid at the beginning of the second half which kept Delhi in the lead. K Selvamani struck back with a four-point Super Raid to get his Super 10 and keep things close on the scoreboard. It was a close affair throughout the second half and Jaipur struggled to get the all-out as Delhi somehow stayed in the match.
Jaipur finally got the all-important all-out in the final two minutes of the match to cut the lead to one point. The match ended in a tie at 37-37 as the sides shared the points on the night.
Jaipur Pink Panthers
Deepak Niwas Hooda - (6/10)
The Jaipur Pink Panthers skipper had a tough time to get going in the first half of the match and managed just a couple of raid points. He had a better second half finishing with eight points on the night including a tackle.
Ajinkya Pawar - (6/10)
The youngster had a slow start in the Jaipur raiding unit but did well towards the end of the first half to pick up four raid points. He continued to pick up timely points ending with seven raid points on the night.
Lokesh Kaushik - (3/10)
The young raider who made an appearance last night off the bench replaced K Selvamani in the lineup. He did not get much of a chance to raid and was replaced in the second half by Gangadhari Mallesh.
Sunil Siddhgavali - (3.5/10)
The defender did not have a productive night in the cover position tonight failing to connect with his tackle attempts tonight.
Santhapanaselvam - (3.5/10)
The right corner of the Jaipur defence was guilty of putting in hasty tackles and conceded quite a few touch points tonight.
Young Chang Ko - (2.5/10)
The Korean international played in the left cover position but was ineffective in the defence and was soon replaced by K Selvamani in the lineup.
Sandeep Kumar Dhull - (7/10)
Sandeep Kumar Dhull was a strong presence in the Jaipur defence scoring two Super Tackles in the first half to keep the side in the game. He picked up a 'High 5' in the first half and ended the match with six tackle points.
Substitutes:
K Selvamanai - (8.5/10)
The raider came off the bench in the first half and started off strong with a bonus and a Super Raid in his first two raids. He scored a crucial four-point Super Raid at the start of the second half and got a Super 10 off the bench.
Gangadhari Mallesh - (3.5/10)
The raider replaced Lokesh Kaushik in the Jaipur lineup at the start of the second half and managed one touch point in three raids.