Welcome to Sportstar's coverage of the Pro Kabaddi League. This is Shyam Vasudevan and I will be taking you through today's PKL 8 match between Haryana Steelers and Puneri Paltan.
That brings us to the end of our Pro Kabaddi League coverage for the day. We will be back tomorrow. See you then!
Meanwhile, 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:
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Puneri Paltan has claimed one of its biggest (if not the biggest) win of its campaign as it thrashes Haryana Steelers 45-27. Anup Kumar's side was aggressive from the get-go and banked on Mohit Goyat's spectacular raiding to cruise ahead. Sombir, the right corner, was also in raging form as he scored seven tackle points. The win sees Puneri Paltan climb to the ninth spot and retain its play-off hopes.
We're not done! We have another game on our hands as Jaipur Pink Panthers takes on UP Yoddha. Join me on the blog here -
FULL-TIME! Puneri Paltan beats Haryana Steelers by 18 points.
27-45 Vinay grabs another point but it won't change his side's fortunes as the final whistle is blown.
26-44 Vinay picks up two points as he gets a the bonus and evades Aslam's tackle.
23-44 Rahul picks up a bonus point and Puneri Paltan leads by 21 points with just over a minute to go.
22-41 ALL OUT FOR HARYANA STEELERS! Vikash evades both the Puneri Paltan defenders, including Abinesh, to give his side something to cheer about.
17-41 A quick flurry of points for Haryana Steelers and Puneri Paltan is down to three men.
16-41 Aslam runs through the Steelers defence but then gets taken out by Ashish.
14-41 SUPER TACKLE! Ashish grabs hold of Rahul's ankle and gets support from Mohit. Rahul, not one to give up, tries his best to wriggle out but his legs eventually give away.
12-41 That's an impenetrable ankle hold from Aslam to tackle Vikash.
12-40 Rahul gets his first point of the game as he eliminates Vijay.
12-39 Finally, some raid points for Haryana Steelers. Vijay comes off the bench and picks up two points.
10-39 Aslam outfoxes Jaideep once again and the Steelers are on the verge of yet another All Out.
Wow, look who has been introduced - Rahul Chaudhari! Rahul is the second-best raider in the PKL!
10-38 Sombir claims his seventh tackle point of the game as he takes out Rohit! Looks like Sombir might just go on to bag a double High-5 today!
9-37 SUPER 10 FOR MOHIT! He gets a touch on Surender to pile on the Steelers' misery.
9-36 That's a move straight out of a wrestling bout! Nitin single-handedly grabs hold of Vikash and lifts him away from the mid-line.
9-35 Nitin has been excellent all across the mat as he now darts from the left to the right and takes out Ashish.
9-34 That's very clever from Nitin. He treads back to the mid-line and appears to be done with his raid but notices Akshay in an advanced position and tags him!
8-33 ALL OUT x3 FOR PUNERI PALTAN! What a mind-blowing performance this has been fro Anup Kumar's men - they've inflicted another All Out within the first five minutes of the second half.
8-30 Ashish gets crowded out by the Puneri Paltan defence and a Steelers All Out is in the offing!
8-29 Jaideep's poor outing continues as he can't contain Aslam. The Steelers are down to two men and are staring at another All Out!
8-28 HIGH-5 FOR SOMBIR! He makes another monstrous tackle to send Rohit back to the bench. Puneri Paltan ahead by TWENTY POINTS!
8-27 Off goes Surender Nada as Aslam gets the better of him.
Haryana Steelers coach Rakesh Kumar makes two changes at the break as Surender Nada and Rohit Gulia are brought on.
HALF-TIME! Puneri Paltan has a staggering 18-point lead at the interval.
7-25 Nitin makes an audacious tackle to take out his rival captain in Vikash. Puneri Paltan have firmly seized control of this game.
7-24 ALL OUT x2 FOR PUNERI PALTAN! It's almost like a deja vu. One defender steps out and Mohit tags the other to power Puneri Paltan to a whopping 17-point lead.
7-20 Sombir is at it again! He traps Ashish with what looked like a bear hug and Ashish had no way out.
7-19 Another poor tackle, another easy tackle for Mohit. Akshay's poorly-timed tackle sees Mohit walk away with his seventh raid point.
7-18 Mohit's just way top quick for the Steelers defence. He leaps out of Ravi's attempted ankle hold to give his side a 11-point lead.
Puneri Paltan has six tackle points while Haryana Steelers has just one!
7-17 That's some ankle hold from Sombir! Vikash tries to wriggle out of it but Sombir was unmoved.
7-16 That's a superb escape from Nitin! He anticipates Jaideep's dash and makes good use of the lobbies to get to the mid-line.
6-15 SUPER TACKLE! Sombir, Sanket and Abinesh get the job done as they usher Vikash off the mat. Puneri Paltan up by nine points now!
6-13 Another point for Vikash and gets rid of another raider in Aslam! Puneri Paltan has lost both its key defenders and key raiders in quick time.
5-13 Aslam does well to pick up a bonus point on the do-or-die raid.
5-12 Vikash gets his first raid point of the match as he catches Mohit with a cheeky toe touch.
4-12 Vinay manages a point on the do-or-die raid as he escapes Vishal's ankle hold.
3-12 Nitin Tomar steps into the lobby and Jaideep follows him as both sides get a point each. Puneri Paltan had reviewed the umpire's decision and has lost its only review.
2-11 Abinesh gets his first point of the game with an incredible dash on Ashish. It's one-way traffic here!
2-10 ALL OUT! Mohit Goyat, you superstar! He has just two men to eliminate an Ashish makes it easier by stepping off bounds. Mohit gets an easy touch on Mohit (the defender) and Puneri Paltan now has a massive eight-point lead.
1-6 He makes that look so easy! Mohit targets Jaideep, one of the best defenders in the League this season, and coolly escapes with a hand touch. The Steelers are down to two men!
1-5 Mohit is tearing apart the Steelers defence as he gets a superb running hand touch on Akshay. Strong start for Puneri Paltan!
1-3 Mohit gets back to back points as he runs past Ravi's dash.
1-1 Vishal Bharadwaj and Mohit Goyat combine to flatten Vinay on the mat.
1-0 Haryana Steelers with the first of the game as the defence does really well to restrict Aslam Inamdar. Jaideep Dahiya will claim the point!
Puneri Paltan won the toss and chose the left side of the court, Haryana Steelers will raid first
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7:30pm: LINE UPS!
Haryana Steelers: Vikash Kandola, Ravi Kumar, Vinay, Jaideep Dahiya, Ashish Narwal, Mohit Nandal, Akshay Kumar
Puneri Paltan: Aslam Inamdar, Nitin Tomar, Vishal Bharadwaj, Mohit Goyat, Sombir, Abinesh Nadarajan, Sanket Sawant
7:20pm: “ Mereko dil me laga ki apun bhi kabhi yaha tak ja sakta hai (I felt deep down that there will come a day when I can also play in the League),” Aslam Inamdar recalls thinking when he first watched the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) in 2014. A lanky teenager who was nursing a fractured leg after playing in the sub-junior nationals, Aslam yearned to make a name for himself in the world of kabaddi. Read more about his journey here -
7:10pm: After winning four games on the trot, Puneri Paltan crashed to a 43-26 defeat to Patna Pirates yesterday. The electric Aslam Inamdar had an excellent first half but wasn’t as impactful in the second, while rookie sensation Mohit Goyat was limited to only six raid points. Both raiders will be hoping for an improved showing on Friday against the Steelers, which boasts the third-best defensive record in the league. Puneri Paltan is currently 11th on the table but only 10 points behind fifth-placed UP Yoddha, which has played two more matches. If coach Anup Kumar's men can recreate their magical four-game win streak, they will be back in contention to earn a playoff berth.
7pm: Three straight wins have taken Haryana Steelers to the third spot on the points table, two points behind second-placed Dabang Delhi. Coach Rakesh Kumar’s men have been brilliant defensively - they have held opponents to under 30 points and have scored 35 or more in three straight matches. Skipper Vikash Kandola has been instrumental in the Steelers’ resurgence as he's scored 28 points in his last three outings and will be looking to score his fourth Super 10 in six matches today.
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: Hello folks and welcome to our PKL coverage for the day! The first game of the evening will see third-placed Haryana Steelers take on 11th-placed Puneri Paltan. Before we get to that, here's a recap of what went down in the PKL over the last fortnight -
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