PKL Season 10 Final Highlights: Puneri Paltan crowned champion after 28-25 win over Haryana Steelers; Aslam Inamdar named MVP

Puneri Paltan was handed a winner’s cheque worth Rs 3 CR INR. 

Haryana Steelers won Rs. 1.8 CR for their runner-up finish. 

Best raider: Ashu Malik (Dabang Delhi)

Best defender: Mohammadreza Chiyaneh Shadloui (Puneri Paltan)

Best NYP: Yogesh Dahiya (Dabang Delhi)

Most Valuable Player: Aslam Inamdar (Puneri Paltan)

Manpreet Singh’s bad luck in finals continues as coach. He lost both finals he made it to with Gujarat Giants and now with the Haryana Steelers. This will be a tough one for someone as passionate as Manpreet to get over. 

After a dominant run in the group stage where they lost just two games, Puneri Paltan has finally won its maiden Pro Kabaddi League title, capping a lot of things they’ve done right and brought into kabaddi. This is easily one of the strongest teams seen inb the history of the tournament and it makes complete sense that their names are on that trophy.

Siddharth Desai gets a touch on Sanket Sawant who then stalls him enough so he can’t get to any other man in orange. Valiant effort this. Mohit Goyat comes in for the final raid. Perfect man to seal this title in Puneri Paltan’s favour. AND IT’S DONE! 

Mohit Goyat comes in and he will run the clock down. BC Ramesh is given a warning and a green card. 

Siddharth Desai goes in again and OH IT’S A SUPER RAID! Aslam, Shadloui have to go! 

Siddharth Desai is introduced with barely 90 seconds left. And he gets a point as he takes out Gaurav Khatri. Aslam goes in and runs the clock down. 

Pankaj Mohite is back for yet another do-or-die raid. Running hand touch on Mohit Nandal and he and the team are all smiles. A few dozen seconds remain before they can scream in jubilation. 

Aslam goes in to raid and he is still tempting that right corner. Siddharth Desai is warming up on the sidelines. Three minutes remain. Shadloui has his 99th point as he brings down Ashish and the Iranian is ecstatic. 

Under three minutes to go. Haryana thinks they have a bonus, but the officials don’t. Ashish’s replay doesn’t look promising. Haryana loses its reviews. 

Manpreet says, “bina movement ke maroge, toh chaar point aa jayenge. Trust me. Do this one last thing for me”

Gaurav Khatri gets his fourth tackle point of the night as he has Shivam Patare in a lock and carries him the other way. 

Last five minutes. Puneri Paltan has a seven-point lead. Shivam Patare looked like he got a bonus and the officials gave it and then took it back. Haryana reviews. Pune won’t mind it as they have the big advantage here. The review is successful and Haryana gets the point. Pankaj Mohite then comes in on a do-or-die raid. The defence steps up it allows Pankaj to frustrate himself a bit. But he is tackled. 

Manpreet has taken off his venue access lanyard and is just about to throw it on the bench in anger but he has to see this final seven minutes through, whichever way it goes. His team seems to have gone into a bit of a shell. Vinay comes into raid and is scattering the defence. But Aslam Inamdar holds his legs and brings him down. Tears are making their way to Manpreet’s eyes. 

Aslam Inamdar keeps targetting Rahul Sethpal and his tentativeness ends up neutralising the defender’s bite. Manpreet’s blood pressure is through the roof. 

Jaideep Dahiya is sloppy here as he gifts Pankaj a touch in trying to dive to dash. 

Worry lines tightening for Manpreet. Gaurav Khatri puts in a massive back hold on Shivam Patare. How’s that for anticipation. OH BUT WAIT. Gaurav has stepped into the lobby. Terrible. 

Manpreet has praise for Shivam Patare and some tough love for Vinay. BC Ramesh tells his boys to work on bonuses too. I don’t want to see dances, get the bonus, he says. 

Pankaj believes he has a touch on Mohit Nandal but the latter refuses a touch. Pankaj, on a do-or-die raid, eventually walks off to safety after a failed dash from Mohit Nandal himself. Nice way to have a last laugh in this small battle. That brings Shadloui back on the mat and he has some words of encouragement coming his way from the coach BC Ramesh. 

Quick raid and a bonus taken by Shivam. Manpreet kept signalling to take the bonuses and he does so. 

Vinay gets a touch on Shadloui it seems and the Iranian vehemently denies the touch. He is asking for the review but Aslam talks him out of it. 

Remarkable skill from Aslam Inamdar. He dives and gets a touch on Jaideep Dahiya’s toe with his hands. Jaideep did not see that coming. Incredible presence of mind. 

Oh, is this a replay? Another half-hearted anklehold and it’s Mohit Goyat and Shivam Patare again. As Mohit makes his way to the bench, Shadloui has words for him and rightly so. 

Pankaj Mohite takes out Mohit who comes to try and dash him out. Pune chipping away

Error from Mohit Goyat. His anklehold isn’t strong enough and Shivam Patare slips away. He cups his face on the floor. He knows he has made an mistake. 

Manpreet Singh is screaming instructions at his boys but now Pune has been awaken . And Shadloui has his first point of the night. Vinay comes to his side and Shadloui makes no mistake with the anklehold. 98th tackle point of the season for the Iranian. 

Mohit Goyat cleans house, with touches on both remaining defenders. Oh how this will hurt Haryana! 

Ashish survives his do-or-die raid with a bonus. 

Mohit Goyat comes in for a do-or-die raid. He goes to Naveen Kundu and lures him to make a half-effort anklehold. Clinical! 

Mohit Goyat goes in to raid with three defenders in blue. Returns empty-handed. Aslam then keeps playing games with Mohit in the right corner, trying to force an error. But Mohit keeps calm. Pune’s frustration is starting to show. 

Puneri Paltan’s defence is being led by Mohammadreza Chiyaneh who has pocketed 97 tackle points in 23 games in PKL 10. He is yet to open his account in this final. Will he get the crucial three points he needs for a 100 tackle points and help his team win that all-important crown? 

Brilliance from Haryana in this final as they bring the lead down to three points with Ashish getting a touch on Abinesh Nadarajan. Coach BC Ramesh face-palming there on the sidelines. An exciting half of kabaddi awaits and at the end of it, we will have a new champion in PKL history. 

Aslam gets a touch on Mohit but Mohit believes there is no touch. No review, so no debate. 

Vishal comes in. He gets a bonus and a touch on Gaurav Khatri as his ankle hold fails. Vital two points from the substitute raider. But Puneri Paltan is reviewing this but is unsuccessful. One minute to go in this first half and the lead is down to four points. More importantly, Vishal has delayed the all out. Two men on the mat. 

Pankaj goes in for a do-or-die raid. A sea of blue tries to pull him back but it looks like Pankaj’s hand has gone over the line. But has it? Both benches are up on their feet and Manpreet’s face has fallen. The official behind him is struggling to get him to sit down but in vain. RAIDER SAFE, FOUR POINTS! Is this the moment this game changes? Haryana reviews this and says only two points will go. REVIEW VINDICATES PALTAN. How about that for a turn-around?

Teams are playing to the do-or-die raid. Vinay tries to tempt a mistake from the Paltan and makes Abinesh lose balance and step out of bounds. Abinesh is a cover defender and couldn’t adapt there for the corner. Pankaj Mohite then jump-escapes over Ashish to get a point for his side. Ashish looks at Rahul Sethpal almost as if to ask why he didn’t back him up. The Puneri Paltan defence, led by Gaurav Khatri, then makes short work of Shivam Patare in the right corner. 

Shivam Patare gets a point for his team with a touch on the dangerous Mohammadreza Chiyaneh Shadloui. Pune still has Mohit Goyat and he puts in a massive backkick on Mohit to get a point for his team. 

Vinay almost sneaks through from under the chain but Gaurav Khatri will not be bettered. A failes do-or-die raid here. Haryana RETURNS THE FAVOUR. Rahul Sethpal brings down Aslam Inamdar. A defensive masterclass on show from both teams. Only three raid points have been scored in this game so far.

Akash Shinde comes in to raid. Rahul Sethpal and Mohit combine to to finish the deal here. 

Nearly ten minutes down in this game and one element Haryana has aced is not allowing Puneri Paltan to dictate the terms of this final. We head into the game’s first time-out. A breather for 1:30. 

SENSATIONAL from Mohit in the Haryana left corner. He brings down Pankaj Mohite. But Gaurav Khatri will not let Haryana run riot as he halts Vinay in his tracks. Manpreet is not happy. 

Steelers down to four men as Mohit Goyat comes into the Haryana half for a do-or-die raid. Haryana gets its first point for the night with his namesake Mohit catching his ankle on the left corner. Brilliant. And a big player to send to the bench. Shivam follows it up with what looks like a multi-point raid. Just the one point is given as Shivam gets rid of Aslam Inamdar. Two of Pune’s clutch players are on the bench at the moment. 

After a Haryana empty raid, Aslam Inamdar is steering clear of Rahul Sethpal. Vinay now comes in to raid and is brought down by a low dash from Abinesh Nadarajan. A sea of orange then drowns him. 

Mohit Goyat comes in for a do-or-die raid for Pune and he is the champion of this situation. He tries to attack the central chain and jumps away to safety. Another point to Pune. 

Vinay will get the ball rolling in this big final. He begins with a raid attempt down the right corner, and then the left. But he will return empty-handed. Aslam Inamdar comes back empty-handed too. Shivam Patare will get Haryana off the mark as he survives a dash by Sanket Sawant along the right flanks. BUT WAIT. DRAMA. Puneri Paltan has given the point as Shivam entered the lobby without a touch. Oh how about that! 

Manpreet Singh, the outspoken and passionate coach of the Haryana Steelers, has taken the Pro Kabaddi League by storm this season. Read Saikat Chakraborty’s piece on the coach here.

Given the close-contested nature of the games in PKL, the prospect of two teams ending at the same score in a semifinal after the regulation time of 40 minutes should not come as a surprise to most.

What are the PKL tiebreaker rules?

• Five raids allowed per team, five different raiders have to raid in a pre-determined order
• Both teams will field seven players on the mat
• The team which raids first in the match will raid first in the tie breaker.
• Baulk line will become the bonus line too
• No out or revival, only touch point will count
• The team with more points after these five raids wins

Jaideep Dahiya

The Haryana skipper has led his team by example in PKL 10. The first time captain in charge of a young squad has looked assured and calculative with his approach throughout the season. With 68 tackle points in 22 games, he’s also been rack solid in defence and forged a robust defence for his team. Haryana will bank on his leadership and defending skills as it takes on the might on Puneri’s plethora of raiders in the final.

Vinay

The young raider from Haryana Steelers has emerged as the one of the most exciting raiders in PKl 10. With 160 raid points in 22 matches, he’s leading the offensive unit of his team. It is not only about the number of points he has score but how her scored them in crunch moments. Vinay has been in tremendous form in the playoffs, registering 23 points in two matches. He scored 11 vital raid points against Jaipur Pink Panthers in semifinal 2 and will look continue his form against Puneri in the final.

Mohit Nandal

The Haryana Steelers defender has been in fine form throughout the season, and the eliminator was no exception. He spearheaded his team with eight crucial tackle points against Gujarat Giants and currently sits at fifth place in the highest tackle point-scorers list with 70 points. Mohit will be looking to maintain his impressive form in the final.

Aslam Inamdar

The Puneri captain has been a consistent performer for the past three seasons. Inamdar is Puneri Paltan’s top scorer with 139 raid points and 25 tackle points. The Indian all-rounder is known for his flamboyant raiding style and ability to extract points in challenging situations. He was instrumental in carrying his team forward in the semifinal and will be looking to cross the final hurdle with flying colours after last season’s heartbreak.

Mohammadreza Chiyaneh

Puneri’s young Iranian powerhouse has lived up to his reputation as the most expensive foreign player in PKL history. He is not only Puneri Paltan’s best defender but also leads the league in tackle points with a staggering 97 in 23 matches along with 27 raid points. He needs only three tackle points to become only the second defender in PKL history to reach 100 tackle points in a season and needs four, to become have the most tackle points in a single season.

Mohit Goyat

One of the unique raiders in PKL 10 is Puneri’s Mohit Goyat, who has a distinctive footwork which deceives defenders. He already has 117 raid points in 21 games. However, he also often plays the dual-role of a left-cover for Puneri and combines with Chiyaneh. Apart from his raid points, he also has 29 tackle points to his name. Mohit will play an important role in the final as an all-rounder as Puneri aims to lift the coveted tropry for the first time.

Puneri Paltan: Mohit Goyat, Pankaj Mohite, Abinesh Nadarajan, Sanket Sawant, Gaurav Khatri, Aslam Inamdar, Mohammadreza Chiyaneh

Haryana Steelers: Vinay, Shivam Patare, Mohit Nandal, Jaideep Dahiya, Rahul Sethpal, Mohit, Ashish

Puneri Paltan: Coach B.C Ramesh’s side blazed a trail to the Playoffs, collecting 96 points and a whopping 253-point score difference. The side’s class was on display in the semifinal as it brushed away Patna Pirates 37-21.

Haryana Steelers: The Steelers qualified in the fifth place with 70 points from 22 games. They then defeated Gujarat Giants 42-25 in Eliminator 1 before downing Jaipur Pink Panthers 31-27 in the last-four clash.

Puneri Paltan vs Haryana Steelers HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD

Played: 14 | Puneri Paltan: 8 | Haryana Steelers: 5 | Tie: 1 

Puneri Paltan vs Haryana Steelers HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD in PKL 10 

Match 1: Puneri Paltan 39-44 Haryana Steelers 

Match 2: Haryana Steelers 36-51 Puneri Paltan

The age-old adage “attack wins you games, defence wins you titles”, as famously stated by former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, rings true not only in football but also in the fast-paced world of Kabaddi.

On Friday, here at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, two of the most formidable defences in Pro Kabaddi League season 10 will lock horns in the final, both vying for their first-ever PKL title — Puneri Paltan and Haryana Steelers.

Saikat Chakraborty is our reporter on ground and here’s his preview

PKL 10 Final: Defensive powerhouses Puneri Paltan, Haryana Steelers hunt for maiden Pro Kabaddi League title

Two of the most formidable defences in Pro Kabaddi League season 10 will lock horns in the final, both vying for their first-ever PKL title.

The Pro Kabaddi League 2023-24 matches will be telecast live on Star Sports Network and live-streamed on the Disney+ Hotstar app and website.