UP Yoddha rode on three massive super raids from Pardeep Narwal to beat Jaipur Pink Panthers 41-34 at Sheraton Grand, Whitefield, Bengaluru in Pro Kabaddi Season 8 on Friday.

Pardeep Narwal bagged fourteen raid points while Surender Gill scored nine raid points to push UP Yoddha across the winning line. Ashu Singh’s super tackle and his first high 5 of PKL 8 also helped the cause.

Jaipur Pink Panthers’ Arjun Deshwal scored 14 raid points to register his 12th super 10 of Pro Kabaddi Season 8. Shaul Kumar was the Panthers’ most successful defender in the game with four tackle points.

Jaipur Pink Panthers made a good start, sending all three of UP Yoddha’s raiders, Pardeep Narwal, Surender Gill and Shrikant Jadhav, to the bench and built up a 7-2 lead.

For two consecutive raids, Ashu was the lone man standing, reviving Pardeep first, and then Surender Gill. With the score at 4-7, Ashu and Surender executed a super tackle on Arjun Deshwal, bringing the score to 7-all.

However, the inevitable all-out was inflicted on UP Yoddha after an unsuccessful raid from Sumit, and Jaipur Pink Panthers took a 12-8 lead.

Three consecutive successful raids from Surender Gill, including a multi-point raid and a dramatic one-pointer, barely pushing his toe across the line, anchored a UP Yoddha comeback. With some help from Pardeep and Sumit, the team finished with just a one-point deficit, 18-19, at half-time.

The second half began with a massive five-point raid from Pardeep Narwal, taking out all three remaining Panthers, affecting an all-out.

A raid from Surender almost took out all five Jaipur Pink Panther men. However, he fell agonisingly short of the white line. Some terrific tackling from Gurdeep allowed UP Yoddha to retain a 27-23 lead eight minutes into the second-half.

Pardeep Narwal pulled off yet another super raid but was super tackled in his very next venture, allowing the Panthers to close in at 33-31 with five minutes on the clock.

Jaipur Pink Panthers tackled Surender Gill to level the score at 33-all but UP Yoddha ensured they regained their two-point advantage.

Pardeep Narwal came in for the final raid with the scoreboard reading 36-34 and the Panthers down to three men. The Jaipur team had a super tackle opportunity and effectively a shot at forcing a tie.

Pardeep, however, kept close to the midline, and as the pounce came from the defenders, he forced himself across to the other side, grabbing five big points for UP Yoddha.

With this win, UP Yoddha moved to the fourth position on the PKL points table with 57 points in 19 games. They will next take on Gujarat Giants on Sunday.