Gujarat Giants in action against the Jaipur Pink Panthers at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad. Image credit: PKL
Hyderabad: Jaipur Pink Panthers held a healthy lead going into the last minute of the match, but Sonu and Dong Geon Lee put up inspiring performances and helped Gujarat Giants tie the game 51-51 in the Pro Kabaddi League in Hyderabad on Friday.
Sonu scored 14 points, while captain Lee contributed 10 points at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium.
Parteek Dahiya pulled off a super raid as Gujarat Giants took the lead at 6-3 in the four minute. The all-rounder continued to make raids and reduced the Panthers to just two members on the mat.
Moments later, the Giants inflicted an all out and took a massive lead at 13-7 in the seventh minute. But the Jaipur side tackled Dong Geon Lee and stayed in the game at 11-13. Abhishek KS and Deepak Singh picked up tackle points, but the Giants still held the lead at 17-15.
Dahiya pulled off a magnificent multi-point raid catching out Deepak Singh and Abhishek KS and helped the Gujarat side extend their lead further.
However, Rahul Chaudhari effected a couple of raids and helped the Panthers reach within touching distance of Giants’ score at 20-21.
Thereafter, the Jaipur side tackled Mahendra Rajput and levelled the scores at 21-21 at the stroke of half-time.
The Panthers pulled off an all out in the 24th minute and inched ahead at 29-26. Thereafter, Arjun Deshwal picked up a few raid points as the Jaipur side continued to keep their noses in front.
UP Yoddhas deny Puneri Paltan top spot
In the second fixture at Hyderabad’s Gachibowli Stadium on Friday, UP Yoddhas defeated Puneri Paltan 45-41 to deny them the opportunity to jump to the top of the PKL table heading into the playoffs that begin next week.
The Yoddhas produced a clinical team performance with as many as three players scoring five or more points and eight registering at least a point on the scorecard.
Puneri Paltan surged to a healthy nine-point lead early in the game as Aditya Shinde and Saurabh’s raiding helped inflict the first All Out of the game. The Yoddhas however, managed to reduce the deficit to a great extent shortly before halftime courtesy a Super Raid from Anil Kumar, with the score reading 22-19 in favour of the Paltan at the interval.
UP drew level with an All Out on the other side of the interval, before another one put them in the lead. The Paltan tried fighting back late in the game but a series of Super Tackles helped UP maintain their lead, and ultimately clinch the game.
Puneri Paltan currently sit at the second spot on the table with 80 points, two points behind leaders Jaipur Pink Panthers. UP Yoddhas, meanwhile, sit two places below the Paltan with 71 points, two short of Bengaluru Bulls.
With inputs from PTI
Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
