Jaipur Pink Panthers champions of inaugural Pro Kabaddi League

Jaipur Pink Panthers with owner Abhishek Bachchan

31st August 2014, Mumbai:

55 hard fought matches. 2,200 demanding minutes of gameplay. Hundreds and hundreds of touches and tackles, dips and dives, whacks and whallops, all leading up to the last match of the last day of the last venue of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi. Everything has been counting down to this. The Jaipur Pink Panthers and U Mumba, fixed against each other by an uncanny twist of fate to end the league with the same match that got it all started.

Tonight, of course, would be a very different night from that pioneering night on the 26th of July. The winner tonight, Jaipur Pink Panthers, would be the first ever champion of India’s very own Pro Kabaddi league, a title that would put the heroic team down in history as the original legends of the sport. With a deafening crowd that filled the NSCI to its very brim, kabaddi was having the night of its life.

The Mumbai crowd, it should be noted, suffered from a foundational split. The Jaipur team, with its immense talent and Bollywood support, found itself with the same amount of hometown boost as the opposing Mumbai squad. An equal glow of orange and pink filled the stands, but this equality would not manifest itself on the mat. Both teams played with an ardent spirit, and the concept of ultimate victory added a previously unseen strength and speed to their already tremendous skill. The final 5 minutes however, placed the Jaipur Pink Panthers 11 points ahead and the ultimate winners of the league.

The game had begun in exactly the opposite format that it ended, cautious and slow, but the journey in between would give the match all the drama kabaddi fans had learned to expect. For the first 10 minutes, throughout lightning raids and thunderous tackles that sent raiders flying out of the lobby, neither teams would give up any ground. But the 11th minute saw the scales fall in the Panther’s favour. 2 tactical mistakes from the Mumbai team had left them with only Riskank Devadiga, who hopelessly outnumbered could not outsmart the Jaipur defence. Thus, an all-out, put the Panthers ahead 13 – 7. They would fight to maintain this lead with tooth and nail, and their determination would be well rewarded.

An impossible escape from Shabeer Sharfudheen gave U Mumba 2 points, as the audiencewas treated to Shabeer spinning himself out of a full-faced grab by 2 Panthers. Followed up by a successful tackle, Mumbai was able to bring the scores to 16 – 12, closing in on the Panther’s lead. But after Jaipur closed the first half by a single handed, wrecking-ball tackle of Anup by Prashant Chavan, Jaipur was prepped to dominate once again.

Exhibiting the same defensive fortitude that had humiliated Patna in the semi-finals, Jaipur gave the Mumbai team nothing, while Maninder and Jasvir took the players apart. Faced with an all-out in the 30th minute, the last man crumbled under the Panther attack, and the lead grew to 27 – 15. As the clock clicked on, Jaipur would not ease up at all.

As Jasvir walked the centre line in the final minute, running out the final time, it was with the proud knowledge that his team would go down forever as the first champions of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi. His victory would be preserved in history alongside the final score, with the crushing defeat of U Mumba and a score of 35 – 24.

Amongst the individual winners, Arjuna awardee and the vice-captain of the Indian national kabaddi team, Anup Kumar one of the most experienced players in the league, was awarded the Pro Kabaddi Most Valuable Player award. Averaging at 5 raids per game, his style has been consistent throughout his career and was reflected in his captaincy of the UMumba team.

Rahul Chaudhari of the Telugu Titans was awarded rest raider of the tournament, an award in recognition of scoring a record 23 raid points in a single match against UMumba in Vizag, and becoming the first raider to cross the century benchmark. The 21-year-old, always a trump card for the Telugu Titans, at 151 Raid Points was tonight Rs. 75,000 richer, as he was announced as the top raider of the first Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League.

The Top Defender of thePro Kabaddi League, was chart topper and all-rounder Manjit Chillar has been one of Bengaluru Bulls’ most effective weapons. Leading the Bulls’ charge, Manjit’s experience provides him with that additional mojo that helps him to oust as many players as possible. An ankle-hold specialist, Manjit Chillar’s grip on the Raider’s mind is also what makes him formidable.

In the first match of the night that decided the fate of the team to be paced third, Patna Pirates bulldozed the Bengaluru Bulls, winning the encounter 29-22. Starting the match on a high, Sandeep Narwal started the proceedings, scoring a 2-point raid in the fifth second. After trading blows for the early few minutes the Bulls’ Kuldeep Singh was ousted, leaving Bengaluru a 3-man side in the beginning of the fifth minute. Riding high on a strong start, Patna’s first road block, was in the eight minute as Ajay Thakur and Dharmaraj Cheralathan, who was also the best defender of the day, picked up Sandeep and put him out of the match. At half-time scores were 9-15.

As the second half began, Ravi Dalal was dramatically picked up and spun around by the Bulls to gain a crucial point. But the Pirates refused to take the humiliation and paid back in the 23rdminute, grabbing Ajay’s ankle, picking him up and throwing him right out. At the end of the 27thminute, Patna was leading the match by 8 points and the lead continued to escalate as Ravi Dalal ousted two Bengaluru Bulls with a spectacular dive. Denying the Bulls every chance of a comeback, Patna sealed the third place, overthrowing the Bulls 29-22