PKL 9: Pune & Jaipur confirmed their berth in semis, Patna knocked out

Patna Pirates vs Puneri Paltan

The Puneri Paltan comprehensively defeated the Patna Pirates 44-30 at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Monday and sealed a place in the Semi-Finals of the vivo Pro Kabaddi League Season 9. Akash Shinde (13 points) and Mohammad Nabibakhsh (9 points) double show was enough for the Paltan to produce a masterclass.  

Billed as a battle between two teams led by Iranian defenders, the electric start was expected. Despite the defensive talent on show, the Paltan ran into an early lead through Akash Shinde's quick raids. While Shinde was an obvious starring candidate, Paltan's Iranain all-rounder Mohammad Nabibakhsh also pulled together points on both sides of the mat to leave the Pirates reeling. The Paltan inflicted the first ALL OUT of the game with barely a minute of the first half left to surge into an 18-8 lead. Barely threatened by anyone bar Sachin, Paltan went into the break leading 19-10. 

The Paltan deepened the Pirates wounds in the second half, Shinde and Nabibakhsh subjecting them to constant touch points as they further extended an already comprehensive lead. At the other end, despite Sachin chipping away with valuable points, the Pirates looked in disarray. A third ALL OUT by the Paltan late in the game all but confirmed their victory as they went into a 43-19 lead. 

The Pirates ended up getting 11 points in the final five minutes, with Mohammedreza Chiyaneh getting a five-point haul, to earn back some respect but in the end, it was too little too late as the Paltan sealed their spot in the semis.   

V Ajith’s Brilliant Show Helps Jaipur Pink Panthers Defeat Haryana Steelers & Confirm Semi-Final Berth 

The Jaipur Pink Panthers put on quite the show enroute their 44-30 victory over the Haryana Steelers at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Monday. With this victory, the Pink Panthers confirmed their place in the Semi-Finals.

In what was a slow start to the contest, the Jaipur Pink Panthers got the better of their opponents in the early exchanges, edging into a slender two-point lead after the first three minutes. The Jaipur Pink Panthers were doing well to keep both Meetu and Manjeet in check however it was Rakesh Narwal, who was helping the Haryana Steelers kick on.  

V Ajith’s raid though forced two Haryana Steelers players off the mat as the Jaipur Pink Panthers continued to keep their opponents at bay. Rakesh Narwal landed a three-point raid for the Haryana Steelers, but the Jaipur Pink Panthers held on to a slender lead. Even though the Jaipur Pink Panthers were in the lead for the most part of the first half, the Haryana Steelers kept fighting to stay in the contest. At the break the score read 21-15 in favour of the Jaipur Pink Panthers.  

It was a slow start to the second half, beginning with a few empty raids. However, soon after the Jaipur Pink Panthers’ unit were out of the blocks faster than the Haryana Steelers, picking up the first points. The Jaipur Pink Panthers continued to add to their lead and took control of proceedings, not allowing the Haryana Steelers’ raiders any space.  

Lucky Sharma and Sahul Kumar pulled off a fantastic tackle on Manjeet in the 29th minute and from thereon, the Panthers took the match away from the Steelers. Meetu, Manjeet and Rakesh were finding it tough to get their raids in as the Panthers continued to stretch their lead.

Manjeet and co threw the kitchen sink in the final few minutes of play, but the Jaipur Pink Panthers kept them at arm’s length, not allowing any hopes of a comeback. Eventually, the Panthers proved to be too strong a unit on the day, and walked away with a comprehensive victory.