After having failed to beat the Mumbai side, UMumba, in both league matches of the Pro Kabaddi league, Jaipur Pink Panthers won the match that mattered the most. Their 35-24 win in Sunday's final left the home side stunned.
Jaipur's game plan was simple: score more points than your opponent. They attacked and attacked relentlessly even as the jam-packed NSCI Stadium, in Worli, wildly cheered for the Mumbai side. They were aggressive even in defence — their 13 tackles to Mumbai's four proving just that.
"Revenge was on our minds and we couldn't have asked for a better stage to outdo Mumbai. We knew our approach had to change and we were ready to take those risks," said an elated Navneet Gautam, captain of the Pink Panthers.
A lot of credit should go to coach Randhir Singh. "They beat us in the first match of the competition in this very stadium. But we won the last match. In our 14 games, we had lost just thrice and drew one. This was one game where the boys just didn't want to lose. Beating Mumbai in the final, in their own backyard, is special," he said.
At half time, just three points separated the teams. But the second half produced a sort of 'one-way traffic', with the Jaipur side displaying their awesome attacking prowess, thereby putting the hosts on the back foot. The first 10 minutes of the second period saw the Panthers score 10 points compared to Mumbai's one.
With the scoreboard reading 27-15 with 10 minutes to go, Mumbai had their work cut out. Not surprisingly, they fell shot. Raiders Maninder Singh and Jasvir Singh wreaked havoc in the opposition half with seven and five raids, respectively. "We couldn't have won it if we hadn't removed the fear factor from our minds. We had worked hard to reach the final and it was more of beating the team that we had failed to. The aggression and hunger clearly showed and there is no question that the better side won today," said Jasvir.
In the third-place playoff, Patna Pirates beat Bengaluru Bulls 29-22. The Pirates never looked like giving up the nine-point lead they took in the first half. Ravi Dalal and Sandeep Narwal starred for the Pirates with four and three raids, respectively.
"This was one of the best team performances we could have come up with. We didn't approach it as a nothing-to-play-for match. We wanted to win. It was great to see our raiders put up a good defensive show," said captain Rakesh Kumar, who will be an integral part of the Indian team at the Asian Games in Incheon.
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