The Jaipur Pink Panthers won their second Pro Kabaddi League championship after defeating Puneri Paltan 33-29 in the grand finals, bringing the ninth season of the league to a glittering conclusion at the Dome, NSCI SVP Stadium.
In a thrilling grand final game, Jaipur Pink Panthers defeated Puneri Paltan 33-29 to win the Pro Kabaddi League championship and reclaim the cup after eight years. With a formidable and balanced squad, Jaipur has been one of the best teams during the course of the season, finishing the league stage as the table toppers. With five victories in a row, the Jaipur team dominated their rivals in the championship game as well.
Match Summary:
Puneri Paltan made it to the final by defeating Tamil Thalaivas 39-37 in the second semifinals, while Jaipur beat Bengaluru Bulls 49-29 in the first semifinals. Puneri Paltan started off the game slowly and cautiously until they stepped up with some brilliant raids and took the lead early on. Before the Paltan could capitalize on the momentum, the Jaipur Pink Panthers fought back and took the lead with an 8-7 score in the 13th minute. The teams continued to trade blows but the Panthers were able to maintain their lead at 14-12 just before halftime.
The Panthers kept up their momentum in the second half, tackling Aditya Shinde in the 22nd minute to cause an All-Out and gain a sizable lead of 18-13. Akash Shinde successfully pulled off a multi-point attack for Puneri Paltan, bringing the team within touching distance of the Panthers’ score at 17-18. Panther’s captain Sunil Kumar and star raider Arjun Deshwal stepped up again for the team, exhibiting a brilliant combo of attack and defense to extend the lead 27-22. Puneri Paltan put everything they had into the game, but despite their best efforts, the Panthers held a 31-29 advantage in the end game.
Pune’s Badal Singh and Aditya Shinde made some desperate effort to reverse the outcome of the game, but the Panthers left no space for error in the dying seconds of the game and won their second Pro Kabaddi championship. The season’s finest raider, Arjun Deshwal, scored six points in the decisive final for the Panthers. He was brilliantly backed by his captain, Sunil Kumar, and fellow raider, V Ajith Kumar, who each scored six points.
All Award Winners of the PKL Season 9
Arjun Deshwal, the explosive raider for the Jaipur Pink Panthers, was named the Pro Kabaddi League Season 9’s Most Valuable Player. He played a significant part in Jaipur Pink Panthers’ Season 9 victory by accumulating 296 raid points and 17 Super 10s, the most of any player this season, in 24 games. Bharat, the prolific raider for the Bengaluru Bulls, received the award for Best Raider of the Season. He concluded the season as the second-best raid point scorer with 279 points from 23 games.
Ankush, a Pro Kabaddi rookie from Pink Panthers, ended with the most tackle points in the league (89), earning the title of Best Defender of the Season. Even though the club included defensive rock stars like captain Sunil Kumar, the young defender outperformed all expectations to become the top defender in the league, not just for Jaipur. The New Young Player of Season 9 Award went to Tamil Thalaivas’ Narender, who recorded 243 raid points in his first-ever PKL season and made history by amassing the highest raid points by a raider in his debut season.
- Most Valuable Player of the Season: Pink Panthers’ Arjun Deshwal (Rs 20 lakh)
- Raider of the Season: Bengaluru Bulls’ Bharatb(Rs 15 lakh)
- Defender of the Season: Pink Panthers’ Ankush (Rs 15 lakh)
- New Young Player of the Season: Bengaluru Bulls’ Narender (Rs 8 lakh)