Pro Kabaddi: Jaipur Pink Panthers' Nitin Rawal salvages a draw vs Haryana Steelers
Sonepat: Jaipur Pink Panthers came backstrongly in the second half against Haryana Steelers to eke out a close 27-27 draw in a Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) match, In Sonepat on Thursday.
Nitin Rawal was the star for Jaipur as he scored 11 points on a night where the famed Jaipur defence had a forgettable outing. Haryana Steelers looked on course for a comfortable victory but couldn't perform in the second half and had to settle for a tie. Haryana Steelers are now top of the table in Zone A with 49 points from 15 games. Jaipur Pink Panthers have 31 points from 10 games.
Both the teams started slowly as it was 2-2 after three minutes. Deepak Kumar Dahiya scored with a two-point raid in the sixth minute as Haryana Steelers led 5-4. Haryana Steelers extended their lead to 8-4 in the ninth minute as Dahiya scored another raid point. Nitin Rawal made a successful two-point raid as Jaipur Pink Panthers reduced the deficit to 6-8 in the 10th minute.
Jaipur Pink Panthers defence struggled to contain Haryana raiders as they failed to score a single tackle point in the first 13 minutes. Haryana Steelers inflicted an all-out in the 15th minute to lead 14-7. Nitin Rawal scored with another two-point raid as Jaipur Pink Panthers trailed 9-14 after 16 minutes.
Haryana Steelers led 17-9 at half time as Jaipur Pink Panthers' defence couldn't muster a single tackle point in the entire half. Jaipur scored their first tackle point in the 22nd minute as they trailed 11-17. Jaipur Pink Panthers scored three points in just under two minutes to trail 16-22 after 29 minutes.
Jasvir Singh made a successful raid in the 30th minute as Jaipur trailed 17-23. Haryana Steelers couldn't get on the scoresheet as often as they did in the first half as they could score just 6 points in the first 12 minutes of the second half. Deepak Kumar Dahiya scored a raid point as Haryana Steelers led 24-19 after 33 minutes.
Nitin Rawal came up with a super raid in the 35th minute as Jaipur trailed 22-25. Jaipur Pink Panthers inflicted an all-out in the next minute to level the match at 25-25.
Both the teams scored a tackle point each in the next two minutes as it was 26-26.
Surjeet Singh made a successful raid for Haryana Steelers in the last minute as the match ended in a 27-27 tie.
