PKL 8: Haryana defeat Pune, Telugu win against Jaipur

Steelers attained the momentum in the opening minutes of the second half.

Haryana Steelers played brilliantly and defeated Puneri Paltan 37-30 in Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 8 in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The Steelers and Puneri Paltan played out an even contest in the first few minutes of the match as the two sides were locked at 5-5 at the end of the 7th minute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIz9GQasfKw

The two teams continued to play out a neck-to-neck contest, but Puneri Paltan held the lead at 8-7 in the 11th minute. Kandola carried out a magnificent raid and helped his side level the scores at 8-8 in the next minute.

Moments later in PKL 8, the Steelers gained the lead at 9-8 after effecting a brilliant tackle. In the 14th minute, the Puneri Paltan carried out a multi-point raid and levelled the scores at 10-10. In the next minute, the Steelers effected a tackle and regained the lead at 11-10. 

Puneri Paltan side fought back and levelled the scores yet again at 11-11. Jaideep pulled off a fantastic tackle and Meetu effected a brilliant raid in the 18th minute as the Steelers took a two-point lead at 13-11. However, Puneri Paltan picked up a bonus point and effected a Super Tackle to take the lead at 14-13. Thereafter, the Steelers pulled off a brilliant tackle as the two sides were locked at 14-14 at the end of the first half of the PKL match. 

The Steelers attained the momentum in the opening minutes of the second half and took a four-point lead at 19-15. Jaideep pulled off another brilliant raid as the Haryana side further extended their lead. The Haryana side kept picking up points and kept forging ahead.

Puneri Paltan side tried to fight back, however, the Steelers still held the lead at 34-25. In the 38th minute, the Steelers carried out an impressive tackle and continued to stay in the lead at 36-26. The Haryana side rode on the momentum and eventually walked off the mat as winners of the match. 

Titans claimed their first win of the season

Telugu Titans claimed their first win of the season by beating Jaipur Pink Panthers 35-34 in Match 65 of PKL Season 8. Adarsh T, who picked up multiple points in the dying minutes of the match, was a Titan for the Telugu team desperately seeking their first victory. He scored 9 points while Rajnish scored 7 as the Titans staged an incredible comeback to beat in-form Panthers. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKgrMnNsS80

Jaipur Pink Panthers dominated the first half with their defenders finding form in the early minutes. Vishal and Sandeep Dhull were impressive for the Season 1 champions who prevented Titans’ Rajnish and Ankit Beniwal from scoring points.

At the other end, despite a mellow start, Arjun Deshwal picked valuable points including one from a crucial Do-or-Die raid to pile on the pressure. The Panthers inflicted the first ALL OUT with 5 minutes remaining to halftime to open an 8-point lead. Despite a renewed effort, the Titans could not close the gap as the half ended with scores 20-13. 

Substitute Galla Raju was impressive with his all-round work for the Titans while Arjun Deshwal clinched his Super 10 for Jaipur. There was just a point difference between the teams going into the final 5 minutes. Adarsh then clinched 3 points in successive raids to give Titans the lead with under 3 minutes remaining.

Deepak Hooda's 2-point raid kept Jaipur in a narrow lead, but the Titans got an ALL OUT with almost a minute to go to shift the balance. The 2-point lead proved good enough as the Telugu team kept calm to get their first win of the season.  

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