Riding on a terrific second half performance, Jaipur Pink Panthers thumped Telugu Titans 34-24 to storm in the final of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi league here on Friday.
Jasvir Singh scored nine points to inspire his team to a comfortable victory in the second semi-final of season four. For Telugu Titans it was their defence which let them down as they scored just four points and suffered a disappointing defeat in front of their home crowd. Jaipur will now play Patna Pirates in the final on July 31 in Hyderabad.
Jasvir Singh opened Jaipur Pink Panthers’ account with a two-point raid in the second minute. Telugu Titans’ Rahul Chaudhari scored a bonus point to get going as Telugu Titans led 3-2 after four minutes. Both teams traded bonus and raid points in the next two minutes as it was 4-4 after eight minutes. Ajay Kumar scored with a two-point raid in the 10 th minute to give Jaipur Pink Panthers 6-5 lead.
It was a closely fought first half as both teams treaded with caution and were tied at 7-7 after 15 minutes. Ajay Kumar came up with another two-point raid in the 19 th minute as Jaipur Pink Panthers led 10-9. Rahul Chaudhari replied with a two-point raid of his own to Telugu Titans 11-10 lead in the 20 th minute.
Rahul Chaudhari had four raid points for Telugu Titans whereas Ajay Kumar scored five raid points for Jaipur Pink Panthers as Titans took a slender 11-10 lead at the end of first half.
Jasvir Singh scored two points in the first four minutes of second half as Jaipur Pink Panthers led 13-11 and reduced Telugu Titans to just two men. An all out was inflicted by Jaipur in 25 th minute as they led opened a four-point gap to lead 17-13. With Rahul Chaudhari struggling to get points, Telugu Titans trailed 13-20 in the 27 th minute. Jaipur Pink Panthers inflicted second all out in 30 th minute to lead 26-14. It was total domination by Jaipur as they got 15 points in 10 minutes and Titans just three. It was make-or- break last 10 minutes for Titans but Jaipur thwarted any hope of a comeback by leading 29-16 in the 32 nd minute.