PKL Season 11: Haryana Steelers beat Jaipur Pink Panthers, register first win of the season
The Haryana Steelers were out of the blocks at a rapid pace and picked up a three-point lead within the first few minutes of the game.
Haryana Steelers on Monday edged past Gujarat Fortunegiants 38-37 in a nail-biting match at the Pro Kabaddi League Season 7 to secure a place in the playoffs.
In Panchkula at the Tau Devi Lal stadium, Steelers’ Vikas Kandola thrilled the audience with his Super 10 as the home side produced a successful tackle in the dying moments of the game to bag the nail-biter.
Fortunegiants, coming on the back of a massive 29-point victory against Tamil Thalaivas, started the match strongly. Rohit Gulia and Sonu impressed with their raids while at the other end a tight defence ensured that Vikas was not given space to wreak havoc.
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Fortunegiants edged Steelers in all fronts of the game. They leveled the points with a tackle on Vikas with one second left on the clock. However, that one second proved too costly for the guests as Steelers’ defenders ushered Rohit Gulia out of the mat to clinch a point and the victory.
Before the match at the same venue, Dabang Delhi had outplayed Puneri Paltan 60-40, courtesy Naveen Kumar.
The young raider picked up another Super 10 (his 17th consecutive) as Delhi produced a near-flawless performance to beat Pune and end their chances of making it to the playoffs.
Delhi, as expected, started on the front foot, with their raider-in-chief Naveen Kumar looking unstoppable. The 19-year-old raider picked points at will, pulling out the acrobatic moves in the process, as the Delhi side inflicting an All-Out on Pune in the 7th minute of the match. Naveen also became the fastest to 400 points in the history of Pro Kabaddi League.
Meanwhile, Pune were badly missing the services of their raider Pankaj Mohite who missed out due to a fever.
Pune’s loss meant their hopes of a playoff berth ended while Delhi ensured they will remain in the top two of the league irrespective of whatever happens in the remaining matches.
(With inputs from IANS)
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