Pune: Haryana Steelers put up a splendid all-around display to earn a gritty 31-29 victory over Gujarat Giants in a Season 10 match of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex here on Tuesday.
With this, the Steelers became the first team in season 10 to register four successive wins.
The Steelers got off the blocks well and quickly climbed to a 5-1 lead as the Giants fought back through a Fazel Atrachali Super Tackle and a clever toe-touch from Rohit Gulia. The two teams remained neck-and-neck for most of the opening half and the Steelers took a sizable lead when Mohit Nandal pinned Parteek Dahiya and brought up his High 5.
There was more trouble in store for the Giants as Vinay got the touch for an All-Out in the 19th minute and the Steelers went into the interval leading 17-10. The Giants managed only 5 raid points in the first half, while the Steelers’ right cover Mohit single-handedly picked up 5 tackle points.
Giants coach Ram Mehar Singh’s half-time chat seemed to have made the difference as his men came out all guns blazing in the second half. Rohit produced an incredible Super Raid to reduce the deficit to 4 points at 15-19 and a superb tackle from Mohammad Nabibakhsh saw the Men in Orange bag the All-Out and inch closer to levelling the score. The Giants scored 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, compared to the Steelers’ 3.
Sonu Jaglan came off the bench and got the Giants on level terms with a massive back-kick to make it 24-24 with seven minutes left on the clock. It was still anybody’s game, but the Steelers handled the pressure situations better to grab the win.
Ashish, who had a quiet evening, got his first point when it mattered the most as he trapped Sonu in an ankle hold with exactly 60 seconds left on the clock and Vinay followed it up with a solid two-point raid to extend the Steelers’ unbeaten streak.
–IANS