The Haryana Steelers earned their second win on the trot as they beat Dabang Delhi 41-34 in the Pro Kabaddi League at the GMCB Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Monday. Later in the evening, Pawan Sehrawat’s Telugu Titans scored a narrow 28-26 win over the Patna Pirates.
Haryana Steelers beat Dabang Delhi
The Haryana Steelers were boosted by the return of captain Jaideep, and that showed in the team’s performance. Mohammadreza Shadloui scored 10 points and Shivam Patare added eight to the cause. For the Dabang Delhi it was Ashu Malik who top scored with 13 points.
The Haryana Steelers had a quick start in the first half. While Malik started off proceedings with an early point for the Dabang Delhi, it was the Haryana Steelers who had the better of their opponents in the initial minutes, as they raced away to a four-point lead in what was a cautious start from both teams.
For the Haryana Steelers, it was Shivam Patare doing the chunk of the heavy lifting early on, as captain Jaideep, who was playing his first game of the season, settled in nicely within the first ten minutes of the game. With just over five minutes left in the first half, Shadloui pulled off a stunning three-point Super Raid to further propel the Steelers ahead. The Steelers clinched an all out with two minutes left on the clock, and went into the half-time break with a massive 11-point lead with the score reading 24-13.
After the break, the Steelers looked to build on their lead, however the Delhi started to fightback with the likes of Malik, Naveen Kumar and Vikrant picking up crucial points. However, a couple of Super Tackles from the Haryana Steelers defence helped them restore the 11-point advantage, with just over 10 minutes to go in the contest.
Eventually, the Haryana Steelers walked off with their second consecutive win of the tournament.
Telugu Titans beat Patna Pirates
The Telugu Titans picked up their second win over the season in a tight win over the Patna Pirates.
Led by Pawan Sehrawat, the Telugu Titans won the game with the scoreline at 28-26. For the Titans, Ashish Narwal scored nine points and Pawan Sehrawat added five more to the cause.
It was a cautious start with neither the Patna Pirates nor the Telugu Titans taking chances in the early minutes. And while the Patna Pirates had a two-point lead in the initial minutes, the Telugu Titans picked up their first points through Narwal in the fourth minute. For the Patna Pirates, it was Devank and Ayan making the most impact in the early phase of play.
Midway through the first half, the Patna Pirates had a slender one-point lead with the score at 6-5 in their favour. For the Telugu Titans, Vijay Malik was leading the way at that point. Slowly but surely, the Patna Pirates, who are three-time champions, moved into a three-point lead, with three minutes left in the first half.
By the end of the first half, the Patna Pirates led 13-10.
After the break, Sehrawat and the Titans sprang into action, reducing the deficit to one-point in the early exchanges, before Vijay Malik brought things to level terms on 14-14 with 14 minutes left in the game.
As the final game progressed, the two sides cranked up the intensity and were trading points and raids, such that the difference between them stood at one-point with 5 minutes to go. That’s when Ashish Narwal scored a Super Raid, which gave the Telugu Titans some breathing space.
Ayan bounced back with a crisp raid right after for the Patna Pirates, which put the game on a knife edge with a couple of minutes to go. However, the Telugu Titans held on with some fierce individual performances, that got them the much-needed win.
