Gujarat Fortunegiants beat Jaipur Pink Panthers 29-23 in the first inter-zone wildcard match of Pro Kabaddi League Season 5.
It was a closely-fought encounter but Gujarat held their nerves as they inflicted an all out in the 39th minute to win the match.
Chandran Ranjit scored seven raid points for Gujarat Fortunegiants. Jaipur’s strong point, their defence, fluffed their lines at crucial moments as they suffered another defeat.
Gujarat Fortunegiants made a swift start to lead 3-0 after three minutes as Chandran Ranjit got two raid points. Tushar Patil got Jaipur going with a raid point in the fourth minute. In the early stages, it was Gujarat Fortunegiants who looked the better team as they led 5-3 after eight minutes. Jaipur Pink Panthers got back on level terms in the 10th minute with another successful raid by Tushar Patil.
In the next five minutes, Gujarat scored three points to lead 9-6. Jaipur Pink Panthers trailed 8-9 in the 16th minute as Pawan Kumar scored with a two-point raid. Both teams were evenly matched and it reflected in the scoreline as it was 11-11 at the end of the first half. Sachin scored five points for Gujarat in the first half wheres Jasvir Singh failed to get on the scoresheet for Jaipur.
The early part of the second half followed a similar pattern as Gujarat Fortunegiants held a slender advantage. Every time Gujarat took lead, Jaipur pegged them back. After 25 minutes, Gujarat Fortunegiants led 15-13. Jasvir Singh scored his first point in the 29th minute as Jaipur Pink Panthers levelled the match at 16-16.
{{/usCountry}}The early part of the second half followed a similar pattern as Gujarat Fortunegiants held a slender advantage. Every time Gujarat took lead, Jaipur pegged them back. After 25 minutes, Gujarat Fortunegiants led 15-13. Jasvir Singh scored his first point in the 29th minute as Jaipur Pink Panthers levelled the match at 16-16.
{{/usCountry}}In the next two minutes Gujarat Fortunegiants scored four points to lead 20-16. This was the biggest lead held by any team in the match so far. For Jaipur, both Manjeet Chhillar was having a quiet match and scored just two points in the first 30 minutes. Jaipur forced two super tackle in the space of two minutes to trail 20-21 in the 35th minute.
Gujarat Fortunegiants once again went ahead as they scored two points in a minute to lead 23-20 after 36 minutes. Chandran Ranjit got a raid point in the 37th minute and reduced Jaipur to just one man. Gujarat Fortunegiants inflicted the first all out of the match in the 39th minute to lead 28-22 and put the match beyond Jaipur’s reach.
Gujarat Fortunegiants are top of the table in Zone A with 72 points from 19 matches. Jaipur Pink Panthers are fifth with 45 points from 16 matches