The Haryana Steelers left it late but it was eventually went home with all the five points after beating the Tamil Thalaivas 36-29 in Match 59 of PKL 11 at the Noida Indoor Stadium on Sunday.
In the second match of the night, Jaipur Pink Panthers edged past Puneri Paltan 30-28 in a fiercely contested game. They are currently at the second spot with 35 points, trailing the Steelers by six points.
In the game between Steelers and Thalaivas, it was Mohammadreza Shadloui once again to grabbed the win for the Haryana Steelers in what was a close contest to the very end.
A cautious approach defined the first half of the game, with both the Tamil Thalaivas and the Haryana Steelers relying on Do-Or-Die raids to secure early points.
While Moein Shafaghi and Vishal Chahal maintained their momentum from Saturday night, Vinay shifted the momentum with a Super Raid that captured both Amir Hossein Bastami and Nitesh Kumar.
The Haryana Steelers then took the lead, ten minutes into the game, following a successful tackle by Rahul Sethpal that removed Vishal Chahal from the match.
The Tamil Thalaivas struck back with an ALL OUT when Amir Hossein Bastami successfully tackled Shivam Patare, reclaiming the lead. This defensive success exemplified the Tamil Thalaivas’ strategy, showcasing why they’ve been among the strongest defensive teams in PKL 11.
The first half concluded with the Tamil Thalaivas leading 17-14, as the Haryana Steelers struggled through five unsuccessful Do-or-Die raids.
Shadloui star for Steelers
A clash that was on equal terms throughout, it was all on the Do-or-Die raids. The first unsuccessful Do-or-Die raid of the night for the Tamil Thalaivas proved crucial for the Haryana Steelers, who equalled the score.
In the very next move, Vinay pulled off a successful raid to get Abhishek Manokaran as they made their final push for the win.
A late scare from the Tamil Thalaivas saw Narender Kandola get both Jaideep and Shivam Patare. But once again it was superstar Shadloui who completed his High 5 with a tackle that got Narender Kandola off the mat.
Handling the pressure of securing the win, the Haryana Steelers prevailed with a calm and collected two-point raid from Vinay, as Manpreet Singh and his men inflicted the ALL OUT to secure a much-deserved win.
Jaipur Pink Panthers secure third consecutive win
Jaipur Pink Panthers managed to hold their nerve to secure their third consecutive win, clinching a thrilling contest against Puneri Paltan with the scoreline of 30-28 at the Noida Indoor Stadium on Sunday.
A High 5 from Ankush Rathee and Arjun Deshwal’s 8 point helped the Jaipur Pink Panthers jump to second place in the points table.
It was an intriguing start from the two finalists from Season 9, trading blow for blow in the opening exchanges. The Jaipur Pink Panthers sprung into action, getting themselves a three-point lead after some solid work from Ankush Rathee in the defensive end.
It didn’t take them too long to inflict the first ALL OUT of the game either, courtesy of a raid from Arjun Deshwal, extending the lead to six points for the Season 9 champions.
Jaipur Pink Panthers kept their foot on the pedal and extended their lead to nine points, after an unsuccessful Do-Or-Die Raid from Pankaj Mohite as he was tackled by Ankush Rathee.
Their defense was dictating terms, restricting the Puneri Paltan to only four raid points in the first fifteen minutes of the match.
Despite it being a tough first half for the Puneri Paltan raiders, their defenders kept them within striking distance as they kept chipping away from time to time.
The first half closed off in a rather sedate manner with the Jaipur Pink Panthers having a seven-point lead with the scoreline reading 19-12.
Abinesh Nadarajan got the first tackle of the second half, that started off in a serene manner. There was only one touch point in the opening 20 minutes for Puneri Paltan as the Jaipur Pink Panthers kept their discipline and made it incredibly difficult to get touch points for the raiders.
Ankush Rathee completed his High 5 for the Jaipur Pink Panthers after a tackle on Akash Shinde, keeping the point difference at eight points.
However, the Puneri Paltan finally managed to close the gap courtesy of a Super Raid from Akash Shinde. That was followed by a tackle from Sanket Sawant, inflicting an ALL OUT on the Jaipur Pink Panthers to cut it down to a two-point game.
It was anybody’s game in the final phase of the contest with the Jaipur Pink Panthers clinging on to their narrow lead.
Arjun Deshwal was doing his bit to make sure that his team remains in the lead, before he was tackled by Gaurav Khatri to make it a one-point game with a little over two minutes remaining.
Reza Mirbagheri got a crucial tackle on V Ajith Kumar during a Do-or-Die Raid to keep the Jaipur Pink Panthers in the lead. With the game coming down to the final raid, Ankush Rathee came in clutch for the Jaipur Pink Panthers, tackling Akash Shinde to secure a 30-28 game for the Season 9 champions.
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