Pro Kabaddi League: Jaipur Pink Panthers hold U Mumba to a draw

It was another exciting draw in the Pro Kabaddi league

21 August, 2014: The crowd in the historical Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium erupted into a roar as their valiant homeboys paraded into the field of play, looking as ready as ever. The newly-crowned table toppers of the league looked determined and ready to face U Mumba who seemed prepared to take over the Panthers and be the leaders of the tournament again. Trading blows, both the teams fought for the first position. A fight of the equals, the game ended in a tie 31-31.

As the crowd waited for their homeboy heroes to take over, Navneet Gautam's men strode in, ready to face the Mumbai Challenge. Though Jaipur had the home advantage, U Mumba joined in and stepped up to the challenge and decided to make the most of the 40-minute bout, ending it in a tie.

The first minute saw the Captain of the Panthers out, thanks to a raid by the showman Anup Kumar. But the flamboyant Anup Kumar soon left the field, failing to escape a powerful tackle orchestrated by Navneed Gautam. As Surender Nada was captured by the Pink army the visitors were left with just 3 players. By the fifth the home team earned their first LONA points, taking their lead to 8 points. In a spot of bother with just a single point, young Pawan Kumar stepped up and scored two crucial points for his team. Riding high on the 9-point lead, Maninder Singh got the better of Anup Kumar sending him back during a crucial juncture of the match. As Pawan’s extraordinary lion’s jump failed, Mumbai was reduced to a four-man army by the home team. Leading by seven points in the 18th minute, Jaipur’s complaisance saw them reduced to just two men, and soon after one, as Anup ousted Jaipur captain Navneet Gautam. As the half-time whistle blew, Jaipur conceded the first LONA Points of the match, taking the points tally to 17-15 in their favour.

The second half began with an Anup Kumar classic, a brilliant one-point raid. Again Pawan’s agility failed against the Jaipur defence as they lead by 5 points in the 24th minute. A strong, unprecedented tackle by Mohit Chillar saw Maninder Singh out of action, but only for a moment as he was revived in the very next challenge. Then came an exciting lightning fast raid by Rajesh Narwal which was a highlight of the match as Anup Kumar had to take a leave. Jaipur re-instated their dominance as Rajesh Narwal ousted Mohit Chilliar leaving Pawan to fight alone. An encore of sorts, Pawan found himself fighting alone yet again as Suresh Annadorai was taken down. But U Mumba did not give up easy. Anup Kumar dethroned Rajesh Narwal with a brilliant catch, reviving his army to four players. Fighting tooth and nail, both the teams ended as the top two on the league table, Jaipur at top spot with 43 points, followed very closely by Mumbai at 41 points.