Ashish was the star for Haryana Steelers as it beat Tamil Thalaivas 37-29 in Bengaluru in the Pro Kabaddi League 8 (PKL 8) in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
All-rounder Ashish had a night to remember, picking up 16 points (including three tackle points) and helping his Steelers team overcome a tough Thalaivas unit to jump to second on the points table.
Ashish was supported well by his captain Vikash Kandola with eight points. Haryana started the match on the front foot with its cover defender duo of Jaideep and Mohit in form. There was no place for Surender Nada in the Haryana starting line-up as coach Rakesh Kumar brought in Akshay. Together, they kept the Thalaivas raiders away while at the other end Vikash Kandola and Vinay brought the points.
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The Steelers got their first All Out in the seventh minute to open an eight-point lead. But the Thalaivas slowly made a comeback through their raiders Ajinkya Pawar and Manjeet. The former was impressive in Do-or-Die situations which helped Thalaivas end the first half on a positive note. The scores were 15-12 in favour of the Steelers at the interval.
Unfortunately, for the Thalaivas, they could not convert that momentum into an All Out as Haryana fought back in the second half. Ajinkya Pawar kept picking up points for Thalaivas, but Ashish’s three-point Super Raid close to the fifth minute after restart shifted the balance once again to the Steelers. They maintained a five-point with 10 minutes remaining in the match.
Thalaivas’ Surjeet Singh and Ajinkya Pawar combined to produce a Super Tackle with six minutes remaining to make it a two-point game. But Ashish first produced a tackle on Ajinkya Pawar and then got a valuable raid point to help Haryana clinch another All Out with five minutes remaining. That opened the lead to six points once again.
Just as Thalaivas sensed another comeback, Ashish produced a three-point Super Raid to widen the lead to six points with under three minutes remaining. He picked his Super 10 and then secured another three-point Super Raid in the final move of the match to secure the win for the Steelers. The careless defending by Thalaivas in the final raid meant they walked away with no points from the encounter.
- Patna Pirates thrashes U Mumba -
Raiders Sachin and Guman Singh helped table-toppers Patna Pirates beat U Mumba 47-36. Sachin (16 points) and Guman Singh (11 points) were in top form for the three-time champion as it consolidated its position on top of the points table with a comfortable victory. U Mumba’s Abhishek Singh (13 points) and Ajith Kumar (11 points) got their Super 10s but the team, especially captain Fazel Atrachali, struggled to provide the support from the defence.
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The high-scoring first half belonged to the Patna Pirates despite a mini-fightback by Mumbai. The Pirates raiding trio of Guman Singh, Sachin and Prashanth Rai started positively and gave them an early lead. But a three-point Super Raid by Abhishek Singh helped his teamrecover from the pressure of an early All Out. Patna was relentless in its pursuit and finally got the first All Out in the ninth minute to open a massive nine-point lead.
U Mumba then showed great spirit to fight back. Ajith Kumar’s two-point raid after the All Out gave them the momentum to attack. Abhishek also contributed as they secured their first All Out with five minutes to half time. That reduced Patna’s lead to two, but its raider Sachin secured a stunning five-point Super Raid to once again tilt the balance of the match. The raider got his Super 10 in the process and Patna clinched another All Out with two minutes remaining. The scores was 26-18 at the interval in favour of the men in green.
U Mumba had the advantage after the restart, but Patna’s raiders ensured they prevented an All Out. Monu then clinched a three-point Super Raid for Patna and gave his team the momentum. U Mumba managed two Super Tackles on Sachin but that was not enough to prevent another All Out.
The Pirates maintained a 10-point lead with 10 minutes on the clock. Abhishek Singh clinched his Super 10 but Patna defence stepped up as the likes of Sajin C. and Mohammadreza Shardloui contributed tackle points. Guman Singh also picked up his Super 10 as Patna ensured there was a healthy 11-point lead with five minutes remaining.
Ajith Kumar picked up points in consecutive raids for U Mumba as it tried to reduce the lead to under seven points. He also got his Super 10 in the process. But Patna was in no mood to concede easy points to Mumbai in its attempt to clinch a Playoff spot. Sachin secured a three-point Super Raid in the final move of the match to ensure Mumbai walked away with no points from the encounter.
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