U.P. Yoddhas, the franchise owned by the GMR Group, went down to Jaipur Pink Panthers with a score of 30-67 in Match number 117th of Pro Kabaddi 2023-24, held at Netaji Indoor Stadium, Kolkata.
Playing their last match of the Kolkata leg in the absence of their star players, U.P. Yoddhas suffered their biggest loss of the season. In the game, Gagan Gowda earned his Super 10, scoring the highest ten points for the Yoddhas, followed by Hitesh, who scored five points, thus securing a High 5. With four victories and 29 points, U.P. Yoddhas is eleventh in the points table.
U.P. Yoddhas will now face Gujarat Giants on 17th February 2024 at Panchkula. The match between U.P. Yoddhas and Gujarat Giants will be telecast LIVE on Star Sports Network and can be streamed LIVE on Disney Hotstar from 09:00 p.m. (IST) onwards.
U.P. Yoddhas invited Jaipur Pink Panthers to raid first after winning the toss, and the defending champions drew first blood in the game. Shortly after, the Yoddhas pinned Arjun Deshwal to open the scorecard, earning points quickly. By the game’s fifth minute, they held an early lead of 6-3, almost pushing the Panthers to the brink of an All-out. However, some unforced errors by the Yoddhas allowed their opponents to stage a comeback, inflicting back-to-back Super Tackles and taking the lead on the scorecard.
In response, the Yoddhas imposed a Super Tackle on Jaipur’s Ajith, earning two crucial points to narrow the deficit in the score. With just three minutes remaining in the first half, the Yoddhas faced an All-Out and trailed by seven points. Jaipur Pink Panthers then quickly earned more points, concluding the first half in their favour with the scorecard reading 23-11.
At the start of the second half, U.P. Yoddhas faced another All-Out of the game, pushing them further behind as they trailed by 15 points within the first minute of the second 20 minutes. The raiders of the defending champions, especially Arjun Deshwal, created difficulties for the Yoddhas squad as he proved unstoppable tonight.
With 12 minutes remaining in the game, the Yoddhas suffered another All-Out due to unforced errors, resulting in a score of 15-37 in Jaipur’s favour. The Panthers carried forward their momentum, inflicting a fourth and fifth All-Out on the Yoddhas, and comfortably secured a 67-30 victory.
