PKL Season 11: With Vinay on song, Haryana Steelers return to winning ways, reclaim top spot
Noida (U.P.): Haryana Steelers returned to winning ways and moved back to the top spot in the points table after a commanding performance against Bengaluru Bulls in Match 68 of Season 11 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) here on Thursday. Led by Vinay’s Super 10, the table toppers came out on top, beating Bengaluru Bulls 32-26 at the Noida Indoor Stadium on Thursday.
Akshit and Nitin Rawal made notable contributions for the Bengaluru Bulls, but that proved insufficient and they remained winless in their last five matches.
Vinay was quick off the block for Haryana Steelers, getting their first four points, while Pardeep Narwal got Bengaluru Bulls off the mark. After a quick start, the tempo of the game did slow down slightly. It was the Steelers who asserted their dominance in the opening exchanges, increasing their lead to five points courtesy of Shivam Patare.
The showstopper, Mohammadreza Shadloui didn’t stay out of the action for too long either, getting a two-point raid to inflict an All Out on the Bengaluru Bulls. It didn’t take the Haryana Steelers much time to double their lead as the Bengaluru Bulls struggled on the offensive end. They closed out the first half on a bit of a high, with Akshit succeeding on a Do-or-Die Raid, before his teammate, Parteek, tackled Shivam Patare. Despite the two points, Bengaluru Bulls were still trailing by nine points at the end of the first half with the scoreline 12-21.
After a sedate start to the second half, Jai Bhagwan sprung into action to raid Mohammadreza Shadloui on a Do-or-Die Raid and followed it up with one on Rahul, executing an All Out on the Haryana Steelers. With the gap closed to five points, Bengaluru Bulls were right back into the game, only momentarily though.
Vinay carried on his excellent raiding form for the Haryana Steelers, putting them up by seven points once more. Akshit continued to fight for the Bengaluru Bulls, getting the better of Mohammadreza Shadloui on a Do-or-Die Raid. However, they could never really close the gap significantly though, as Vinay kept scoring raid points for fun, keeping Haryana Steelers’ healthy lead intact, as he completed his Super 10.
A Super Tackle on Vinay helped the Bengaluru Bulls close the gap to seven points with under six minutes to go. But every time the Bengaluru Bulls seemed like they could close the gap, the Haryana Steelers had an answer to keep their opponents at an arm’s length.
Akshit was the only one who carried on his good work on the offensive end for the Bengaluru Bulls as they resorted to the Super Tackle strategy with the clock running down. However, Vinay didn’t allow them to have much success with it though, as Haryana Steelers ran down the clock and eventually sealed a six-point win to move back to the top of the table.
