Pro Kabaddi League 2018, 111: Jaipur Pink Panthers vs Puneri Paltan, Player Ratings
The Pro Kabaddi League Season 6 carnival moved on to its newest destination as the Jaipur Pink Panthers kicked off their home leg in Panchkula, Haryana with a clash against the Puneri Paltan at the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex.
The home side came into the fixture with the aim to stay in the running for a playoffs spot and get the home leg off to a winning start. Their star man and skipper Deepak Niwas Hooda was in fine touch but hoped for better support from his fellow raiders Ajinkya Pawar and Anand Patil. The defence had done well in their last match as Sandeep Kumar Dhull and Sunil Siddhgavali picked up handy tackle points and aimed to keep their form going over the course of the home leg in Panchkula.
Puneri Paltan were out of the running of the playoffs and were on a losing streak of three matches and hoped to snap out of it. They started with two strong raiders Deepak Kumar Dahiya and GB More and hoped to overcome the absence of their star man Nitin Tomar. The defence were struggling in the past few matches and had their task cut out against an in-form Deepak Niwas Hooda.
The first half of the match was a one-sided affair as the home side Jaipur Pink Panthers took early control in the match with an early all-out. They continued their momentum with strong raiding and defence and inflicted another all-out. Deepak Niwas Hooda was in good form and Sunil Siddhgavali picked up a High 5 inside the first twenty minutes to keep the Pune raiders in check. The score stood 21-8 at the end of the first period.
The second half began with the Puneri Paltan mounting a comeback for a while to cut back the lead. However, the Pink Panthers recovered the control quickly courtesy smart raiding by Deepak Niwas Hooda and Amit Kumar's High 5 as they won 36-23 in the end.
Jaipur Pink Panthers
Deepak Niwas Hooda - (7/10)
The skipper of the Jaipur Pink Panthers was in good form and used his raiding skills well to keep the Puneri Paltan defence on their toes. He finished with a tally of eight raid points.
Ajinkya Pawar - (5/10)
The supporting raider did well in do-or-die situations and used his running hand touches well to pick up four points in the match.
Anand Patil - (3/10)
The third raider in the Jaipur lineup was inefficient tonight with a lot of empty raids and scored two raid points on the night.
Santhapanaselvam - (4/10)
The right corner of the Jaipur defence was a strong support to the cover defenders and picked up a couple of tackle points with his ankle holds.
Sandeep Kumar Dhull - (4/10)
The young defender had a poor first half leaking a couple of raid points with his mistimed tackle attempts but did well in the second half picking up a Super Tackle towards the end of the match.
Sunil Siddhgavali - (9/10)
The cover defender was in lethal form tonight putting in strong thigh holds and blocks in the Jaipur lineup picking up his 'High 5' in the first half itself. He added three more points in the second half and finished with eight tackle points.
Amit Kumar - (7.5/10)
The other defender to pick up a 'High 5' on the night, Amit Kumar was in fine touch in the second half with his blocks from the cover position.