Jaipur Pink Panthers' semi-final hopes hang by a thread after they ended their home stint with three back-to-back losses. The leg started on a positive note for them as they knocked Bengaluru Bulls out of the reckoning with a 30-21 win, but Puneri Paltan brought them crashing back down to earth.
The Paltan strengthened their top 4 hopes with 2 wins in 2 games at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, while U Mumba dominated Bengal Warriors in their only match of the leg.
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The Jaipur leg saw plenty of brilliant individual performances. Here, we pick the best 7 who make up the team of the week:
Rajesh Narwal
Rajesh is possibly the only player from the Jaipur Pink Panthers squad who can hold his head up high after the humiliation at home. With 24 points in 4 matches, he was the lone warrior for the team and the only consistent threat for the opposition. He salvaged some pride for the Pink Panthers by scoring 10 points in a 24-47 loss against the Patna Pirates in the final match of the leg.
Rohit Kumar
The man behind the annihilation of the Jaipur Pink Panthers, Rohit Kumar features in the team as a raider. He was the chief architect of the Patna Pirates' massive win over the home team as he gathered a mammoth 14 points in the match. With this win, the Pirates secured qualification for the semis and Rohit is now just 2 points away from becoming the top scoring raider in the tournament.
Sandeep Narwal
While Rohit Kumar was invading the opposition's half, Sandeep Narwal kept a tight ship at the back. The 22-year-old scored 6 defence points and 1 raid point in the Patna Pirates' only match of the Jaipur Leg. Sandeep provided the perfect platform for his raiders to silence the home crowd.
Fazel Atrachali
Fazel Atrachali has cemented a spot in U Mumba's starting line-up ever since taking to the mat when the team's star players left for the South Asian Games. The Iranian gave a good account of himself by scoring 6 defence points, denying the Bengal Warriors raiders. With Fazel manning the defence expertly, Anup Kumar and Rishank Devadiga could go for their raids without any worries.
Sukesh Hegde
Telugu Titans slayed the Bengaluru Bulls in Jaipur and it was this man who laid the foundation of that win. Sukesh Hegde scored 8 raid points to emerge as the top scorer of the match as the Titans kept their semi-final hopes alive. With Rahul Chaudhari struggling for form, the team's hopes lie on Sukesh to carry them into the knockout stages.
Surjeet
The Puneri Paltan defender gave a masterclass in defending when his team took on the Jaipur Pink Panthers. Surjeet denied Sonu Narwal, Jasvir Singh and Co. continuously by scoring a mammoth 8 defence points. He also scored 4 defence points in Pune's win over Dabang Delhi to emerge as one of the best defenders of the Jaipur Leg.
Jasmer Gulia
Puneri Paltan won both their matches in Jaipur and Jasmer Gulia had a major hand in their twin victories. He gave Surjeet the perfect support in Jaipur by scoring 9 defence points in the two games. The 32-year-old saved his best for his former team as he restricted last season's top scorer Kashiling Adake to just 3 raid points in the match against Dabang Delhi.
