The Haryana Steelers defeated Puneri Paltan 37-30 in Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 in Bengaluru on Wednesday whereas in the second encounter Telugu Titans edged past Jaipur Pink Panthers in a game that went right down to the last raid.
Neck-to-neck start
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 seventh minute. 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. Paltan then 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.
The Steelers attained momentum in the opening minutes of the second half and took a four-point lead at 19-15. The Haryana side kept picking up points and kept forging ahead. The Steelers inflicted an all out and took a 10-point lead at 31-21. The 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 drought ends
In the second match, 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 instrumental for the Telugu team desperately seeking their first victory. He scored nine points while Rajnish scored seven as Titans staged an incredible comeback to beat in-form Panthers.
Jaipur Pink Panthers dominated the first half with their defenders finding form in the early minutes. Vishal and Sandeep Dhull were impressive for the inaugural season's champions who prevented Titans' Rajnish and Ankit Beniwal from scoring points. The Panthers inflicted the first all out with five minutes remaining to half time to open an eight-point lead. Despite a renewed effort the Titans could not close the gap as the half ended with scores 20-13.
In the second half, the Titans staged an immediate comeback when Adarsh produced a three-point super raid immediately after the restart to inflict an all out. The five-point move (2 for all out) made the scores level. Arjun Deshwal kept on picking up points for Jaipur, but the Titans stayed in the match with some dogged defending.
Substitute Galla Raju was impressive with his all-round work for the Titans while Deshwal clinched his Super 10 for Jaipur. Deepak Hooda's two-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.