The Puneri Paltan locked horns with the Haryana Steelers in ‘Match 108’ of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 8. The Paltan was coming off a big defeat at the hands of the Patna Pirates in their previous contest and needed a big win over their opponents tonight to stay in the race for the playoffs. On the other hand, the Steelers had a three-match win streak to their name before the contest but were unable to extend it as the Pune-based franchise thrashed them 45-27 in their contest tonight at Bengaluru’s Sheraton Grand Hotel.
Mohit Goyat was the star of the show for the Pune-based franchise as the raider picked up twelve points in the game, including two tackle points, the Steelers were not able to tackle Mohit even once throughout the game as the raider kept the defenders on their toes and did not allow them a single opportunity to gain an upper hand over himself. Other than Mohit, Aslam Inamdar and Nitin Tomar picked up eight and four points respectively to support Mohit and guide their side to the victory.
Sombir was the face of the defensive unit tonight as the defender racked up seven tackle points to his name and was a constant threat for the Steelers throughout the game. Abinesh and Sanket Sawant aptly supported their teammate picking up one point each. While the two did not have not many points to their name, they made sure to jump in to support at every viable opportunity. Vishal Bhardwaj had a disappointing outing tonight as he was the only player from the Pune-based franchise who was not able to pick up a single point in the entire game.
On the other hand, the Haryana Steelers looked visibly disappointed with their performance at the end of the contest. Ashish was the leading point scorer for the side as he picked up eight points to his name. Skipper, Vikash Kandola had a very off outing as the strike raider was able to fetch just five points in the entire contest, getting tackled six times in the process. Vinay who was the third raider for the team had six points against his tally was the second-highest scorer for the Haryana-based franchise tonight.
Steelers who have been prominently known for their defensive firepower throughout the season seemed helpless against the Puneri Paltan side as they could only manage four tackle points in the entire contest. None of their key defenders other than Jaideep could manage even a single tackle point all throughout the contest which turned out to be one of the key reasons for their defeat tonight.
Puneri Paltan defenders in action as they block Vikash from reaching the midline
The Pune-based franchise was rampant from the start of the first half as they fired on all cylinders picking off their opposition players one after the other. The defense quickly sidelines Vikash before he could do any damage against their side. Mohit capitalized on the momentum set by his defense and helped the Paltan inflict the first all-out of the game upon their opponents within the first six minutes of the game establishing an eight-point lead over the Steelers.
Haryana tried to make a comeback in the game but it was short-lived as the Pune-based franchise quickly curbed the uprising with a super tackle in the 14th minute of the game, the team used the momentum to reverse the tides of the game with back to back tackle points over their opponents. The team then hammered the Steelers with the second all-out within the first half with two minutes remaining on the clock.
Aslam played a key role in the second all-out as he scored a multi-point raid to put the Steelers on the verge of an all-out which Mohit converted with another multipoint raid in the 18th minute of the game. At the end of the first half, the Puneri Paltan had established an eighteen-point over lead opponents leading by 25-7.
Puneri Paltan started off the second half from right where they left in the first half as they inflicted yet another all-out upon their opponents within the first six minutes of the second half to increase the point difference between the two sides by twenty-five points as they lead by 8-33. The Steelers tried to make a comeback in the game with an all-out over their opponents with just three minutes remaining in the contest but it was too late by then as the Pune-based franchise had developed a comfortable 23-point lead over their opponents.
Haryana Steelers will be very disappointed with how the night turned out for the team, but the franchise still has the opportunity to finish amongst the top two teams on the table with 58 points to their name in 19 appearances. The team will look to finish their campaign with wins in their three remaining fixtures starting with U Mumba as the two teams clash this Sunday.