Haryana Steelers’ miserable form at home continued as they suffered their third defeat in four games on Sunday. Puneri Paltan outplayed Haryana 45-27 and moved to the top of the points table in Zone A.

While Vikas Khandola put up a solid all-round performance for Haryana, no other player including the star raider Monu Goyat could help them overcome a poor start. Puneri Paltan, on the other hand, had Nitin Tomar scoring 10 points and leading from the front.

Haryana had suffered a humiliating defeat against U Mumba on Saturday but looked a different team in the first 10 minutes of the game against Puneri Paltan. They were tied 7-7 and looked good to carry on.

But Tomar had different plans. He scored three points in two raids to get Puneri Paltan an allout and a 13-7 after 12 minutes. Rajesh Mondal then scored with a two-point raid to give Puneri Paltan 15-10 lead after 15 minutes. At the end of the first half, Puneri Paltan enjoyed an eight-point lead with the score 19-11 in their favour.

Haryana looked for a comeback in the second half and Khandola completed a super raid to fuel it. But trailing 20-31, Haryana found it extremely difficult to challenge Puneri Paltan.

The defence of Puneri Paltan proved to be the difference between the two teams. Both teams had same raid points – 20 – but the tackle points gave Puneri Paltan advantage over Haryana.