PKL-12: Defending champions Haryana Steelers defeat Patna Pirates by 9 points with an all-round performance

Defending champions Haryana Steelers, powered by their defense (18 points), defeated three-time champions Patna Pirates 43-32 in the 38th match of Season 12 of the Pro Kabaddi League, played on Wednesday at the Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium. This was Patna’s fifth defeat in six matches, while Haryana registered their fourth win in as many games.

Apart from the defense, Shivam Patare (15 points) emerged as the hero of Haryana’s victory. Captain Jaideep and Hardeep both scored High-5s, while Rahul Setpal added four successful tackles. For Patna, Ayan scored seven points but was caught nine times. Milan Dahiya (5 points) sparked a brief comeback for Patna with a four-point raid that all-outed Haryana, but the Pirates could not stop the Steelers from regaining control.

The game began with Vinay’s two-point raid, followed by Haryana’s defense catching Ayan to take a 3-0 lead. Maninder responded with two consecutive raid points to make it 2-4 after three minutes, but Shivam’s multi-point raid extended Haryana’s lead to four. Soon, Jaideep dismissed Ayan again to stretch the gap to five points. After being revived, Ayan returned, only to be caught for the third time.

Haryana surged to an 11-4 lead, pushing Patna into a super tackle situation and then securing an all-out. Sudhakar’s multi-point raid reduced the deficit to 6-13 at the 10-minute mark. However, after the timeout, Haryana inflicted another all-out to lead 17-6 and soon caught Ayan for the fourth time. Patna managed three quick points to make it 9-18, and then Milan’s four-point raid all-outed Haryana, bringing the score to 15-19.

After revival, Haryana once again caught Ayan for the fifth time to maintain a five-point cushion. Just before halftime, Patna’s defense dismissed Vinay, and in a do-or-die raid, Maninder took out Neeraj to cut the margin to 18-21.

After the break, Ayan earned two raid points to bring the gap down to one. But Haryana’s defense super-tackled Ayan to stretch it back to three, and Shivam’s Super-10 made it five. Revived again, Ayan dismissed Shivam and put Haryana under pressure, reducing the gap to two. At one stage, Haryana risked an all-out, but Setpal super-tackled Ayan to push the score to 27-24. Haryana followed up with back-to-back points to extend the gap to five.

In the next phase, Haryana forced Patna into a super tackle situation and soon inflicted another all-out, taking a commanding 36-27 lead. After revival, Shivam scored two more raid points to increase the lead to 11, before Ayan was caught for the ninth time, making it a 12-point margin. During this phase, Hardeep completed his High-5. Patna managed a super tackle for two points, but Jaideep’s High-5 sealed the Steelers’ victory. In the closing moments, however, Jaideep was shown a yellow card and had to leave the mat, though Haryana’s win was already secure.

Haryana Steelers from the word Go literally dominated Patna and didn’t let make comeback in the game.

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