Pro Kabaddi League season finale: Jaipur Pink Panthers beat Puneri Paltan to win the PKL title
Jaipur Pink Panthers defeated Puneri Paltan 33-29 in the summit clash to become champions of Pro Kabaddi League Season 9 on Saturday. V Ajith, Sunil Kumar, and Arjun Deshwal were the best players in the Jaipur team, with six points each
Jaipur Pink Panthers beat Puneri PaltanPankaj Mohite gave Puneri Paltan a 3-1 lead with a brilliant attack in the opening minutes of the match.
However, the Jaipur team hit back and equalised the score at 3-3. When Gaurav Khatri tackled Arjun Deshwal to give the Pune side the lead again at 5-4 in the ninth minute the title hung in the balance.
After that, V Ajith stepped up, and Jaipur equalised at 6-6. Both teams went head-to-head until Mohammad Nabibakhsh scored a tackle and a tackle point in quick succession to give Pune a 10-8 lead in the 16th minute.
But Ajith caught Sanket Sawant and Gaurav Khatri to give Jaipur a 12-10 lead in the 19th minute. The Panthers kept the lead at 14-12 until the halftime whistle.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆<br>🏆 Jaipur 🏆<br>🏆 Pink 🏆<br>🏆 Panthers 🏆<br>🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆 🏆<br><br>JAIPUR PINK PANTHERS ARE CROWNED CHAMPIONS OF SEASON 9 🙌<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JPPvPUN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JPPvPUN</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vivoProKabaddi?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#vivoProKabaddi</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FantasticPanga?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FantasticPanga</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vivoPKL2022Final?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#vivoPKL2022Final</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JaipurPinkPanthers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JaipurPinkPanthers</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vivoProKabaddi2022Final?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#vivoProKabaddi2022Final</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Champions?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Champions</a> <a href="https://t.co/h2Fa7VeI24">pic.twitter.com/h2Fa7VeI24</a></p>— ProKabaddi (@ProKabaddi) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProKabaddi/status/1604142119542992896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Panthers attacked Aditya Shinde and inflicted an all-out on him in the 22nd minute to take an 18-13 lead. However, Akash Shinde managed a multi-point raid, and Pune got to within 17-18 of Jaipur by tackling Ajith.
Ankush tackled Akash Shinde to help the Panthers extend their lead. Although, Aditya Shinde caught Ankush and Sahul Kumar and kept Pune in the game at 20-23.
Jaipur captain Sunil Kumar made a couple of brilliant tackles to give the Panthers a 27-22 lead in the 34th minute and they would not look back.
The Pune side didn't give up though and managed to get past Deshwal in the 38th minute to take a 25-29 lead.
After that, Badal Singh V Ajith attacked, and Aditya Shinde executed an attack, but Paltan still couldn't find a way to level the score as the Panthers led 31-29 in the last minutes of the match.
The Panthers played their cards perfectly in the game's final seconds and clinched their second Pro Kabaddi League title.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">These pangebaaz were crucial in leading their team to glory tonight🏆<a href="https://twitter.com/Vivo_India?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Vivo_India</a> Perfect Player of the Match ➡️ Sunil Kumar<a href="https://twitter.com/Dream11?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Dream11</a> Gamechanger of the Match ➡️ V Ajith Kumar<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vivoProKabaddi?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#vivoProKabaddi</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FantasticPanga?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FantasticPanga</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vivoProKabaddiFinal?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#vivoProKabaddiFinal</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vivoPKL2022Final?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#vivoPKL2022Final</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vivoPKL2022Playoffs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#vivoPKL2022Playoffs</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JPPvPUN?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JPPvPUN</a> <a href="https://t.co/xUPqpUQP8u">pic.twitter.com/xUPqpUQP8u</a></p>— ProKabaddi (@ProKabaddi) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProKabaddi/status/1604161932558503936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Pro Kabaddi League Season 9 Awards:
Best raider for season 9 - Bharat (279 raid points), Bengaluru Bulls
Best defender for season 9 - Ankush (89 tackle points), Jaipur Pink Panthers
Young player of the season 9 - Narender (243 raid points), Tamil Thalaivas
Most Valuable player of season 9 - Arjun Deshwal (296 raid points), Jaipur Pink Panthers