The Jaipur Pink Panthers secured a crucial win in the race for the playoffs as they beat Gujarat Giants 42-29 in Match 103 of PKL 11 at the Badminton Hall in Balewadi Stadium on Tuesday. Raid Machine and team skipper Arjun Deshwal was their main aggressor yet again, having scored 13 points, but Neeraj Narwal’s eight points and Ankush Rathee’s High 5 played an equally important role in the victory.

A fast-paced start to the match saw the Jaipur Pink Panthers race to an early lead over the Gujarat Giants. In the early exchanges, Neeraj Narwal got Mohammad Nabibakhsh, and then Neeraj Kumar wasted a Super Tackle opportunity against the Raid Machine Arjun Deshwal. This led to the first ALL OUT inflicted on the Gujarat Giants, after Rohit failed to tackle Neeraj Narwal.

This set the tone for the game as the Jaipur Pink Panthers completely dominated their opponents. Ankush Rathee joined the party with a bold move on Rakesh, and even though the Gujarat Giants found successful raids courtesy bonus points, the Panthers inflicted a second ALL OUT on the Gujarat Giants towards the end of the first half as the score read 27-16 in favour of the two-time PKL champions.

The script of the match remained the same in the second half as well. As much as Guman Singh and Rakesh led the raiders for the Gujarat Giants, their defence had no answers to the might of Arjun Deshwal and Neeraj Narwal. ‘Gunman’ Guman also completed a Super Raid in a brilliant move that got Ankush Rathee, Surjeet Singh and Abhishek KS, but it was not enough as the Jaipur Pink Panthers began to run away with the win.

Arjun Deshwal completed a well-earned Super 10, while Ankush Rathee completed his second High 5 of the season. For the Gujarat Giants, Guman Singh and Rakesh scored nine points each, but it was not enough as the Jaipur Pink Panthers closed out an impressive 13-point win over the Gujarat Giants to move into sixth position as they remain in the hunt for a playoffs spot.

Schedule for PKL Season 11 match on Wednesday, December 11:

Match 1 – Haryana Steelers vs Bengaluru Bulls – 8 pm      
Match 2 – U Mumba vs Tamil Thalaivas – 9 pm