The Haryana Steelers have secured the last available playoff spot for themselves after picking up a 39-32 win over the Patna Pirates in their first home-leg match at the Tau Devilal indoor Stadium in Panchkula on Friday.
Later in the day, the Jaipur Pink Panthers picked up a 51-44 win over the Telugu Titans.
Haryana Steelers beat Patna Pirates at home to seal their spot in playoffs
Siddharth Desai (12 raid points) and Rahul Sethpal (eight tackle points) starred for Haryana Steelers, while Thiyagarajan Yuvaraj (six tackle points) and Sanjay (five tackle points) excelled for Patna Pirates.
Playing their first home game of the season, Haryana Steelers began on a positive note and took an early 5-1. However, Patna Pirates, who had chosen to rest their regular starters and played a fresh line-up, struck back through a super tackle from Rohit and a fantastic super raid from Anuj Kumar.
Both sides vied for the lead thereon and neither managed to open up a sizeable lead as they went into the break locked at 13-13.
The Patna Pirates' defence sprung into action early in the second half as K Prapanjan was flattened on the mat and Haryana Steelers were reduced to two men.
Rahul Sethpal offered his side some hope with a strong strong tackle, but it was only a matter of time before Patna Pirates got the all out. It took a marvellous super raid from Rohit as he outwitted all three Haryana Steelers defenders to give his side the lead at 21-18 in the 26th minute.
Desai put Haryana Steelers ahead in the very next raid with a stunning four-point super raid as the scoreline read 22-21 in the home team’s favour. Patna Pirates, the three-time champs, dealt only in super tackles post that as they raced to a 29-26 lead with Thiyagarajan bagging a High 5.
Desai came to Haryana Steelers’ rescue once again as he went through the opposition defence before a strong ankle hold from Mohit on Sanjay led to an all out and put the home team ahead at 33-30.
With four minutes left, the Haryana Steelers slowed the pace of the game and held on to assure themselves of a berth in the playoffs.
Pink Panthers beat Titans
An inspired Pawan Sehrawat was not enough for the Telugu Titans as they went down to the Jaipur Pink Panthers 44-51. Sehrawat logged an incredible 22 points, 17 on the raid and five in tackling – for a Super 10 and a High 5 – and yet was let down by a disjointed team.
As has been the norm this season, Arjun Deshwal logged 16 raid points for the Pink Panthers to help them a hard fought victory.
Contrary to expectations, and form, the Titans made a rapid start to the game and within two raids, Sehrawat had the Pink Panthers already depleted on the mat. A super tackle at a crucial moment staved off the all out, but Sehrawat did not let up and soon enough they inflicted the first all out of the game to streak into a lead.
The Pink Panthers rallied after that to briefly draw level, but a second all out inflicted by the Titans extended them into a three point lead which they consolidated almost immediately.
Sehrawt's super raid to take out Ashish, Abhishek KS and Sunil Kumar put the Pink Panthers on the ropes, and the Titans went into the break leading 28-20.
The Pink Panthers hit back early in the second half, and inflicted an all out of their own to claw back into the lead.
Deshwal's super raid to take out Ankit and Milad Jabbari seemed to have turned the momentum in favour of the defending champions, but the Titans did not let up. An end-to-end contest saw the Pink Panthers hold a one point lead going into the final five minutes of the game, albeit with fewer numbers on the mat.
With one minute of the game left, Abhijeet Malik's super raid to take out Shankar Gadai, Ankit and Milad Jabbari set up another all out that effectively wrapped up the game. The young raider's five points raid put a massive nine point gap between the sides. The Titans cut the lead down a bit in the end, but the Pink Panthers wrapped up a deserved victory.