Haryana Steelers crash out of the tournament after a 30-27 defeat against Patna Pirates

The Haryana Steelers were up against the challenge of Patna Pirates in the final game of the league stages in ‘Match 132’ of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8.

It was the final act of the league stages of the Pro Kabaddi League, as the Steelers had the opportunity to make it into the playoffs with a win over league leaders Patna Pirates. The Steelers have been very inconsistent this season and they fumbled the bag in their last chance to make things right as the Pirates were able to get past their opponents with a 30-27 win in their favor.

The Steelers will be disappointed with the margin of defeat as they missed the opportunity to make it into the playoffs by just three points. None of the raiders for the team were able to leave their impact on the game as Ashish emerged as the top scorer for the team with eight points to his name. Skipper, Vikash Kandola could just manage four points to his name and looked heartbroken after the final whistle.

The defensive unit was completely dependent on their leading defender Jaideep for the majority of the match. The defender completed his sixth Thigh 5 of the season and closed the season with 66 tackle points to his name. Surinder Nada was the second-best defender for his side with two tackle points to his name. Other than the two defenders none of the players were able to keep the opposition raiders under check.

Sachin Tawar was once again the key man for the Patna-based franchise as the team went in with their regular playing seven in the contest. The raider picked up eight points to his name and emerged as the top scorer for his side. Guman Singh played the perfect support raider in the contest picking up four points to his name in crucial situations for his side. 

The defensive unit was on fire as always with Mohammadreza Chiyaneh spearheading the charge with 9th Thigh 5 of the season, the defender is now at the top of the list of best defenders this season with 78 tackle points to his name in his debut season. Other than the young Iranian the team looked a little slow with their attempts but were right on the mark with their support.

Vikash Kandola attempts to earn a touchpoint over Mohammadreza

The game started off with a quick pace as both the sides traded points back and forth with each other in an attempt to outscore their opponents. The Pirates took the early lead in the next few minutes as they pushed the Steelers to the brink of an all-out. The team quickly capitalized on the man advantage and inflicted the first all-out in the first ten minutes to gain a considerable 8 point lead over their opponents.

Haryana was not ready to back down from the challenge just yet as they came back strong in the final ten minutes of the contest and returned the favor on the Pirates with an all-out of their own in the closing minutes of the first half to bring the point difference to 3 points with the Pirates leading 17-14 heading into the second half of the contest.

The second half was a bit slow in the first few minutes as both sides took a cautious approach. However, both sides continued to trade points in consecutive raids as no one could get the upper hand over their opponents. 

With the clock running out on the Haryana Steelers the team tried to go on an all-out attack to get back into the game but were not able to make a dent on the Patna-based franchise as their defense played it safe and waited for the raiders to make the first move.

The Steelers have their all but could not close down on the three-point lead Patna had since the start of the first half as the match referee signaled the end with the final whistle, bringing the end to struggles for the Haryana-based franchise. The team will be disappointed with missing out on the playoffs for such a short margin.

On the other hand, the Patna Pirates will be happy with their win as they managed to gain some momentum heading into the semifinals as they will wait for their opponents. UP Yoddha and Puneri Paltan will face each other in Eliminator 1 this Monday as the winning side will clash against the Pirates to make it into the finals of the tournament.