Chennai, October 5, 2025: Puneri Paltan clinched a thrilling contest against the Jaipur Pink Panthers, getting over the line with a 41-36 win at the SDAT Multi Purpose Indoor Stadium on Saturday. Ajay Thakur’s side managed to hold their opponents at bay, despite Ali Samadi’s 22-point masterclass, which was also the best performance by an international player in the league.
With Jaipur Pink Panthers on the verge of completing a memorable comeback, Mohit Goyat shut the door with a crucial Super Tackle. His head coach mentioned, “We have to credit Mohit for his performance today. He’s a raider but he recorded two crucial catches for us today, in a situation where there was a lot of pressure on the team. So, Mohit’s Super Tackle won us the match today.”
Ajay Thakur also credited Jaipur Pink Panthers’ raider Ali Samadi’s historic 22-point performance, highlighting the impact of Iranian players in the league. He said, “I have said it before, you can’t plan for Iranian players because they just manage to find a way. That’s what happened today. Ali Samadi alone scored 15-16 points in the second half.”
“Towards the end, when we were put in a position for a Super Tackle, Mohit Goyat and Dadaso Pujari executed those tackles. If they hadn’t made those tackles, I’m 110% sure we would have lost the match”, he added.
Puneri Paltan raider Pankaj Mohite, who chipped in with eight points on the night, was also applauded the Iranian’s performance while being full of praise for his teammate, Mohit Goyat.
“In the first half, Samadi didn’t take too many points off us but he was dominating our defenders in the second half. However, we had faith in our defenders and raiders, and were constantly motivating them. I had confidence in Mohit, that he’ll deliver for the team when needed, and that’s why we kept him in the game”, Pankaj said.
Looking forward to their next game – the Maharashtra derby against U Mumba on 8th October, Ajay Thakur reckoned, “It’ll be an interesting battle. Sunil Kumar is one of my favourite players in the league. He plays with a lot of patience. His defence is doing a great job this season. We have great raiders in our team though, and we’ll back them against U Mumba.”
Please find below, the previews for the PKL Season 12 matches on Sunday, October 5:
UP Yoddhas will be hoping to get back to winning ways after back-to-back losses as they host a Telugu Titans side that have won three in a row. Sumit Sangwan’s team will need their raiding duo of Gagan Gowda and Bhavani Rajput to step up to the plate as they look to contain a well-rounded Titans unit consisting of Vijay Malik and Bharat Hooda.
Bengaluru Bulls will take on the Tamil Thalaivas in the Southern Derby in an encounter that promises to keep the fans captivated. After Arjun Deshwal’s epic 22-point performance that led his team to victory against the defending champions, the Thalaivas will want to complete the double over their local rivals this season.
