Pro Kabaddi League 2018: Gujarat Fortunegiants open home leg with a win; Jaipur Pink Panthers pick up important victory

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Fortunegiants crushed Bengal Warriors 35-23 in Inter Zone Challenge Week of Pro Kabaddi League Season 6 in Ahmedabad on Friday.

K Prapanjan led the scoring charts for Gujarat as he scored 9 points and was ably supported by Ajay Kumar and Parvesh Bhainswal.

Bengal Warriors were only in the match for the first 10 minutes but never recovered after being all out in the first half.

Gujarat Fortunegiants began their home leg with a win over Bengal Warriors. Image Courtesy: PKL

Maninder Singh and Jang Kun Lee couldn't live up to their high standards as Bengal Warriors suffered a second consecutive defeat.

Ajay and Maninder got a couple of raid points to get their teams going in the first five minutes. Prapanjan's two-point raid gave Gujarat 6-5 lead in the sixth minute.

Both teams were jostling for points and refused to give an inch in what was a closely contested first half. Maninder Singh scored another raid point in the ninth minute to give Bengal Warriors 9-8 lead.

In the 14th minute, Gujarat grabbed the advantage as they inflicted an all out to lead 14-11. At the half time, Gujarat Fortunegiants led 19-14.

A super tackle forced by Bengal Warriors in the 23rd minute reduced the deficit to four points.

Gujarat were in no mood to allow Bengal Warriors to make a comeback. Ajay Kumar's successful raid in the 28th minute led to Gujarat inflicting another all out as they led 27-18.

With less than five minutes to go, Gujarat Fortunegiants enjoyed a healthy 12-point advantage. The home side picked up a few more raid and tackle points in the last couple of minutes to wrap up an easy 35-23 win.

Pink Panthers thump Yoddha

Jaipur Pink Panthers rode on a solid all-round performance to beat UP Yoddha 45-28 in the Inter Zone Challenge Week of Vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 6. Deepak Hooda scored 10 points whereas two Sandeep Dhull and Sunil Siddhgavli got a high five each to lead Jaipur to a comfortable win. Nitesh Kumar scored seven points for UP Yoddha but didn’t get enough support from his defence.

Jaipur Pink Panthers made a swift start as they led 4-1 after three minutes. UP Yoddha were finding it tough get going but a super tackle in the 5th minute bought them to 3-5. Ajinkya Pawar made a two-point raid in the 6th minute as Jaipur led 8-3. In the next minute, Jaipur inflicted an all out to extend their lead to 11-4.

Deepak Hooda scored a raid point in the 10th minute as Jaipur led 14-6. UP Yoddha fought back with a super tackle in the 16th minute as they trailed 10-19. Rishank Devadiga got a two-point raid in the 18th minute with UP Yoddha trailing by five points. At the end of the first half, Jaipur Pink Panthers led 20-15.

Jaipur Pink Panthers were looking in control of the match in the second though UP Yoddha tried their best to make a comeback. A super tackle in the 27th minute by UP Yoddha saw them cut the lead to just five points. Ajinkya Pawar  then scored with two quick raids to give Jaipur 27-20 lead in the 31st minute which was followed by an all out on UP Yoddha.

The all out knocked the wind out of UP Yoddha but Rishank Devadiga’s two-point raid in the 34th minute again reduced the deficit to just seven points. Jaipur Pink Panthers were in no mood to relent as Deepak Hooda got his raiding act together in the last minutes.

Hooda scored four raid points in three minutes as Jaipur Pink Panthers inflicted another all out in the 38th minute to lead 42-27. In the end Jaipur Pink Panthers won the crucial points and ran out comfortable winners.

With inputs from PTI