Haryana see off Pune challenge
Haryana Steelers beat Puneri Paltan 31-27 in Pro Kabaddi Season 5 clash on Tuesday night. Prashanth Kumar Rai scored 12 points for Haryana Steelers and Surender Nada scored four tackle points. For Puneri Paltan, Deepak Niwas Hooda scored eight points but didn’t get enough support from his teammates.
Haryana Steelers are second in Zone A with 79 points after playing their last league match before the super play-offs begin in Mumbai. Puneri Paltan are third in the table with 74 points from 20 matches.
It was an evenly contested first half as both teams were tied at 11-11 after the end of the first half. Puneri Paltan’s defence had a quiet first half as they could manage only three tackle points.
The second half followed a similar pattern as the first as both teams were evenly matched. Puneri Paltan forced a super tackle in the 32nd minute to lead 20-18. Girish Ernak scored with a super raid in the 34th minute to give Puneri Paltan a 23-20 lead. Haryana Steelers fought back as they inflicted an all out in the 35th minute to lead 25-24.
In the 37th minute, Prashanth Kumar Rai scored a raid point to give Haryana Steelers a 27-24 lead.
Puneri Paltan scored a raid and tackle point in the next minute to trail 26-27 after 38 minutes. Rai sealed Puneri Paltan’s fate with a two-point raid in the 40th minute as Haryana Steelers led 30-26.