Jaipur Pink Panthers’ Ajith Kumar.
| Photo Credit: X/@ProKabaddi
V Ajith Kumar produced a solid performance as Jaipur Pink Panthers pulled off a gripping 29-28 victory over Patna Pirates in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 10 in Pune on Sunday.
Raider Ajith was the star of the night with 14 raid points and two tackle points.
Sachin effected a raid and Ankit carried out a tackle point as the Pirates inched ahead at 2-0 in the fifth minute. By the 10th minute, the Pirates took a 6-1 lead, which they extended after inflicting the first ‘all out’ of the match.
Defender Sajin Chandrasekar upped his game as the Pirates raced away with a 10-point lead at 13-3 in the 13th minute.
The Pirates kept dominated the proceedings to lead 16-8 at the end of the first half.
Sandeep Kumar effected a couple of raids in the opening minutes of the second half as the Pirates continued to hold momentum at 18-10 in the 24th minute.
Sachin carried out a brilliant raid and reduced the Panthers to just two members on the mat in the 26th minute.
Ajith took out Ankit and Sandeep Kumar to record a ‘super raid’, but the Pirates still stayed ahead at 22-15 in the 29th minute.
Ajith scored a tackle and raid point to help the Panthers inch closer to the Pirates’ score at 18-22 in the 31st minute.
Ankush tackled Sandeep as the Panthers reduced the gap between the two sides even more. Moments later, the Panthers inflicted an ‘all out’ to level the scores at 24-24.
Thereafter, both sides played out a neck-and-neck battle and were locked at 26-26 when just 90 seconds remained on the clock.
Ajith pulled off a brilliant raid to take out Neeraj Kumar and Sajin Chandrasekar and hand a three-point lead to his team at 29-26.
Thereafter, Bhavani Rajput ran down the clock on the final raid of the match and ensured that the Panthers walked off with a thrilling one-point victory.