PKL 11: Haryana Steelers Down Puneri Paltan, Gujarat Giants Edge Out Bengal Warriors – News18
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The Steelers posted a 38-28 triumph over the Paltan as Shivam Patare top scored with 13 points, before the Giants managed to pip out the challege posed by the Warriors 39-37.
PKL 11: Haryana Steelers 38-28 Puneri Paltan. (X)
The Haryana Steelers were in exceptional form as they quelled the challenge of the defending champions Puneri Paltan with a 38-28 scoreline in a Season 11 clash of Pro Kabaddi League at the Noida Indoor Stadium on Wednesday.
Shivam Patare top scored with 13 points and Mohammadreza Shadloui added five points as the Haryana Steelers won and continued to sit at the top of the points table.
The Haryana Steelers were out of the blocks very quickly, with the defenders and the attackers working in tandem, racing away to a 5-0 lead within the first few minutes. The Haryana Steelers were dominating the early exchanges, and then Jaideep landed an All Out, giving his team an eight-point lead and the momentum.
Shivam Patare and Vinay were leading the charge in the attack for the Haryana Steelers, who continued to build on their lead. In the final 10 minutes of the first half, the current table toppers, Haryana Steelers, continued to keep the defending champions, Puneri Paltan, at bay. Patare ended the first half with eight points as the Steelers led 22-14.
The second half started similarly, with the Haryana Steelers dominating the contest. Vinay and Patare were helping extend the lead, even as the Puneri Paltan continued to fight on with Pankaj Mohite and Akash Shinde. Mohammadreza Shadloui also picked up crucial points for the Haryana Steelers, who led by nine points at the half-hour mark.
In the final phase of play, Patare notched up his Super 10, and moments later Pankaj Mohite did so too. But, the Haryana Steelers had almost everyone making significant contributions, whereas the Puneri Paltan defensive unit wasn’t having the best day.
In the final five minutes, the game picked up pace as the Puneri Paltan raiders Pankaj Mohite and Akash Shinde tried to make one final push, but Jaideep and co held strong in defence for the Haryana Steelers. Eventually, the Haryana Steelers walked off the mat with a 10-point win. Interestingly, earlier in the season when the two sides had met, the Puneri Paltan had won by 10 points.
Gujarat Giants 39-37 Bengal Warriors
Guman Singh scored a Super 10 to help Gujarat Giants register their third win in their last five matches, beating Bengal Warriors 39-37.
Guman Singh’s brilliant performance was enough for the Gujarat Giants to get over the line, despite Maninder Singh scoring a Super 10 and Nitesh Kumar completing a Hi-5 for the Bengal Warriors.
The game got off to a fast start courtesy of Guman Singh, who got the first raid of the game. He followed it up with a Super Raid to wipe out three Bengal Warriors players, giving his side a four-point lead in the opening exchanges. Bengal Warriors roared back into the game, levelling things up at six-all, as Fazel Atrachali and Nitin Kumar got their team back into the mix.
It didn’t take Gujarat Giants too long to extend their lead back to four points as Himanshu Singh got the better of Fazel Atrachali on a successful Do-or-Die Raid. However, Mighty Mani was starting to find his groove with a couple of raids, while a tackle from Mayur Kadam helped Bengal Warriors cut the deficit down to two points.
With the momentum on their side, Bengal Warriors moved into the lead after inflicting an All Out on Gujarat Giants. At the end of a tightly contested first half, Maninder Singh and Guman Singh had seven raid points each, with Bengal Warriors having a one-point lead as the scoreline read 20-19.
There was no separating the two teams as they went blow for blow at the start of the second half. The back-and-forth nature of the game continued as Gujarat Giants got their noses in front by two points.
The lead didn’t last for too long as Nitesh Kumar was starting to make his presence felt on the defensive end alongside his captain, while Maninder Singh’s efforts helped Bengal Warriorz level the score at 25 points each.
Entering the final quarter of the game, the Bengal Warriors had a one-point lead with their defense performing exceptionally. Keeping in tune with the seesaw nature of the game though, Gujarat Giants moved ahead again, courtesy of a Super Tackle with under seven minutes to go in the game.
Bengal Warriors got themselves back in the driver’s seat as Nitesh Kumar completed his Hi-5 with a tackle on Guman Singh. He followed it up by executing another brilliant tackle to inflict an All Out on the Gujarat Giants, giving his side a three-point lead. Mighty Mani also completed his third Super 10 of the season, keeping Bengal Warriors in the lead.
With the clock ticking down, Guman Singh completed his Super 10 and got Gujarat Giants in the lead again with under two minutes to go. He also delivered the final blow to the Bengal Warriors, inflicting an All Out and settling the result of the game beyond all doubt.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – IANS)
