Welcome to Sportstar's coverage of the Pro Kabaddi League. This is Nihit Sachdeva and I will be taking you through today's PKL 8 match between Haryana Steelers and Bengal Warriors.
That brings us to the end of our Pro Kabaddi League coverage for the day. We will be back tomorrow. See you then!
Before you leave, do take some time to vote for your favourite athletes/teams in the 2022 Sportstar Aces Awards. CLICK HERE TO VOTE
You can also check out our Kings of Kabaddi series from PKL 7 - a happier time pre-COVID when we got to physically sit down with some of the biggest names in the league and hear their stories. You can check out all episodes here:
--
Summary: The final score does not tell the whole story of this match. Going into the last 10 minutes, Bengal Warriors was very much alive trailing Haryana Steelers by just four points. However, Haryana did what it had to do to run away with the game and it did exactly that by keeping Maninder (13 raid points) off the mat for most of the final quarter. Once Maninder was gone, other Warriors' raiders couldn't much while Vikash (10 raid points) and Vinay (eight raid points) kept the scoreboard ticking for Haryana. With this win, Haryana climbs from 7th to 4th on the points table while the Warriors stay on 10th.
46-29: Last raid of the match and Vinay picks up another touch point off the right corner. Eight raid points for him. Haryana Steelers beats Bengal Warriors 46-29 to climb up to fourth on the points table for the time being!!!
45-29: Rohit comes in for the raid but gets brutally taken down by Ravi's back hold.
43-29: Vinay picks up a touch point as Ran Singh's ankle hold fails.
42-29: ALL OUT!!! Rohit picks up a bonus but nothing more. This is just getting embarassing now.
39-28: Running hand touch by Vikash sends Parveen Satpal to the bench and the Warriors are down to a single man. SUPER 10 FOR VIKASH!!!
38-28: Nabibakhsh picks up a bonus but Ravi says that is enough. Ankle hold comes in and the Iranian goes down.
37-27: The lead increases. Sukesh Hegde goes in for the raid but does not come back.
36-27: Ran Singh from the left corner went in for the ankle hold on Vikash and the raider smartly jumped in the air to go past that.
35-27: Sukesh does just that. Bonus taken.
Bengal Warriors coach has simple instructions - pick bonus inside 10 seconds.
Final strategic time out. Five minutes to go. Haryana has a nine-point lead and crucially, Maninder Singh is off the mat. Running down the clock and finishing the game will probably be Haryana's strategy. Bengal needs a big raid or two to have a chance.
35-26: And Maninder is off. Excellent work from Ravi Kumar to take down the Bengal skipper.
34-26: Vinay makes full use of Vishal having a bad day and picks up another touch point.
33-26: SUPER RAID!!! Maninder Singh says, "Hold on." The Bengal skipper went in for the raid, picked up a bonus from under the nose of the left corner who then went for the tackle and got the assist as well. However, Maninder does not care as he is just too confident and it is his confidence that carries him over the mid-line. Haryana Steelers has lost its review challenging the bonus.
33-23: ALL OUT!!! Vikash wipes off the remaining two Bengal players off the mat in a single raid. He was initially blocked but somehow escaped that and then ran past both the players to reach the mid-line.
29-23: Well, now Haryana can breathe a little easily as the entire defence comes in to push Maninder off the mat.
28-23: Another error from Vishal Mane as he tries the ankle hold on Vikash who is too quick.
First strategic time out. Ten minutes to go. A small four-point lead for Haryana but I feel this is not done yet till the time Maninder Singh is on the mat for Bengal.
27-23: Vikash comes in for the raid and creates panic in the defence. Eventually, Ran Singh loses his balance and steps out of bounds on his own at the back off the mat after the chain with Vishal got broken.
26-23: Brilliant dash by Surender Nada to send Nabibakhsh off the mat.
25-23: Vinay keeps the raiding department going with a touch point off Sukesh. Vikash is back on the mat.
24-23: SUPER 10 FOR MANINDER!!! Mohit went for the dash but Maninder easily avoided it and reached the mid-line.
24-22: Do-or-die raid for Nabibakhsh, Jaideep goes in for the thigh hold but the Iranian makes it to safety.
24-21: Vinay picks up one more bonus.
23-21: Vinay picks up a bonus.
22-21: Ashish provides the touch point on a platter for Nabibakhsh. Careless.
22-20: One skipper goes, another follows. Bengal defence takes down Vikash in the very next raid.
22-19: Wow! It's a self-out for Maninder who just could not control his movement and touched the lobbies with his hand without taking a touch.
21-19: Vinay in for the raid but doesn't have to do much as it is a self-out for Abozar Mighani.
20-19: Sukesh Hegde comes in for the opening raid of the second half and gets trapped in the chain tackle of Ashish and Jaideep who finished the move with a back hold.
This match started off a bit slowly but came to life near the end of the first half. Maninder has single-handedly kept his side in the match is just one shy of another Super 10.
HALF-TIME: Haryana Steelers 19-19 Bengal Warriors
19-19: Last raid of the first half and it is a successful one for Maninder who gets his ninth raid point. Akshay came in with the dash but couldn't push Maninder off the mat before he got his hand to the mid-line.
19-18: Ran Singh goes in for the tackle on Vinay but unfortunately, he had stepped out of bounds before that. Self-out and Vinay is safe.
18-16: Incredible strength shown by Vinay to bulldoze the mighty Vishal Mane who came in for the block.
17-15: Vikash Kandola comes in for the raid and the Bengal Warriors defenders are onto him in a flash. Still probably frustrated due to that Super-Raid.
17-14: ALL OUT!!!! This is quite a turnaround from Haryana. Maninder last man on the mat for Bengal, went in for the raid, picked up the bonus but then got mobbed.
14-13: Two men on the mat for the Warriors, Vishal targets a touch off Abozar, invites him for the ankle hold and then escapes freely.
13-13: Not yet. Maninder has avoided the All Out for the time being by first picking up a bonus before taking a touch point off Akshay.
13-11: SUPER RAID!!!! A humongous four-point raid for Vikash! The Haryana skipper was looking for the touch point on the right corner before seeing that Vishal Mane was dashing in for the block, Vikash held himself back to let Vishal's momentum carry him out and then reached the mid-line sending three others to the bench as well who went for the assist. Bengal Warriors has lost its review saying that the raider is self-out.
9-11: Another touch point for Maninder as Akshay on the left corner goes for the ankle hold but no one comes in for the assist.
9-10: Lovely work, Maninder! The in-form raider picks a touch point off the dangerous Haryana defender Jaideep.
9-9: Ashish in for the raid, tries to get a touch off Ran Singh on the left corner with a kick, does not get it and steps into the lobbies while returning. Self-out for him and also for the two defenders who followed him into the lobbies.
7-8: Ran Singh is the next raider. Ravi Kumar goes for the ankle hold from the right corner but gets support.
7-7: Ashish continues the good work in the raiding department. This time, he sends Anand V to the bench.
6-7: Maninder in for the raid, picks up the bonus but then gets pushed off the mat just before he touches the mid-line.
5-6: Ashish goes in for the raid now and finds success there as well as he takes a touch point off Vishal.
4-6: Brilliant block by Ashish and he takes down the mighty Iranian Nabibakhsh.
3-6: Vinay picks up a bonus.
2-6: Another do-or-die raid for Vikash but same result. Bengal's defenders do not panic, wait for the right time before pushing him off the mat. Although, Vishal Mane was quite close to a self-out.
2-5: Maninder picks up a bonus.
2-4: Akshay from the left corner comes up with an excellent double ankle hold to take down Nabibakhsh.
1-4: Do-or-die raid for Vikash, Bengal's defense makes him wait and eventually, the raider steps into the lobbies without a touch. Self-out.
1-3: Mohammad Nabibakhsh picks up a bonus.
1-2: Mohit comes with the dash and pushes Maninder off the mat. The raider had picked up a bonus already.
0-1: Vikash Kandola goes in for the opening raid and Ran Singh takes him down straight away. Intent.
----------
TOSS - Bengal Warriors wins the toss and selects left side of court. Haryana Steelers to raid first.
7:20pm: LINE-UPS!!!
Haryana Steelers: Vikash Kandola (c), Vinay, Ravi Kumar, Ashish Narwal, Jaideep Dahiya, Mohit Nandal, Akshay
Subs: Surender Nada, Meetu, Rohit Gulia, Ankit, Mohammad Mahalli
Bengal Warriors: Maninder Singh (c), Mohammad Nabibakhsh, Parveen Satpal, Vishal Mane, Anand V, Abozar Mighani, Ran Singh
Subs: Rohit Banne, Sachin Vittala, Sukesh Hegde, Amit Nirwal, Rohit
7:15pm: Head-to-head stats: Matches played - 5, Matches won by Haryana Steelers - 4, Matches won by Bengal Warriors - 1, Last meeting - Haryana Steelers won 41-37
7:10pm: The Bengal Warriors has lost two of its last three matches and is 10th on the points table. It had a poor outing against the Gujarat Giants in its previous match where it lost 25-34 . It managed only eight tackle points, with Ran Singh picking five of those, and could score 17 raid points while giving up 12 tackle points to the Giants’ defence. The Warriors sit only four points behind fourth-placed Jaipur Pink Panthers, but a defeat on Friday could prove to be detrimental in their quest for a playoff berth.
7pm: The Haryana Steelers comes into this game on the back of a disappointing 26-32 loss against the Gujarat Giants . The usually reliable Haryana defence had an off night, as it could muster five tackle points while conceding 20 raid points. The raiding unit had a decent outing. Youngster Meetu had his best game in quite some time and finished the game with eight raid points. Skipper Vikash Kandola also picked up seven points, but the rest of the team failed to impress. The Steelers defence will have to be at its best against the Bengal Warriors’ raiding unit, or they could find themselves on the receiving end of another loss.
6:50pm: The 2022 edition of the Sportstar Aces Awards is back and we are celebrating the marvellous year for Indian Sports that 2021 was. From Neeraj Chopra and the other Olympic and Paralympic medallists to the Indian cricket team, we have a bunch of nominees who need your vote to win! Support your favourite athlete/team here .
6:40pm: If you've just hopped on the PKL train, fret not, we have you covered. Here's a simple explainer that covers all the rules of the game and the various terms such as 'All Out', 'Do-or-die' and 'Super Tackle' -
6:30pm: Hey guys, welcome to our PKL coverage of the day. Before we get to today's first game between Haryana Steelers and Bengal Warriors, here's a recap of what went down in the PKL over the last fortnight -
Comments
Follow Us
SHARE