Pro Kabaddi 2019, Patna Pirates vs Haryana Steelers: Vikas Kandola's Super 10 leads Steelers to comfortable 39-34 win
Haryana Steelers registered yet another victory in Pro Kabaddi 2019 after overcoming a stiff challenge from the Patna Pirates to register a 39-34 win over the three-time champions in 104th fixture of the season at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
Despite Patna's loss, Pardeep Narwal was crowned the most valuable player of the night, given he garnered a whopping sum of 17 raid points in 22 attempts. However, no other player from his team made any impact which influenced Patna's loss in the end.
Vikash Kandola played a crucial role in Haryana's victory as he collected 13 raid points by stamping his class on the mat while Prashanth Kumar Rai and Ravi Kumar also put up a laudable display.
Patna skipper Pardeep Narwal won the toss and opted for court as his opposite number Vikash Kandola went for the opening raid of the match and returned empty-handed. Pardeep Narwal opened the scoring for the night with a quick hand-touch on Ravi Kumar.
With both teams taking an aggressive route, the score was tied on 3-3 five minutes into the clash. Pardeep was then tackled by Sunil in his second raid and with his side unable to pick points, he was forced to spend an extended period on the bench.
Sunil was impressive all through the contest as he tackled the top three raiders of the rival team with extreme ease and was one of Haryana's standout performers apart from Kandola himself.
It was only in the 8th minute when a commendable Super Tackle by Neeraj Kumar brought Pardeep back on the mat. Patna struggled to pick up points in Pardeep's absence which indicated the lack of confidence in the support raiders.
Pirates finally conceded an ill-fated All Out in just the 11th minute and ended up handing a 11-7 lead to Haryana and as the first half came to a close, the Vikash Kandola-led side enjoyed a 17-15 lead.
Record-breaker Pardeep kick-started the second half with two back-to-back touchpoints that equalized the scoreline. However, Haryana's defensive unit yet again sent Pardeep off the mat that compounded issues for the three-time champions.
A second All Out was inflicted on Patna in the 26th minute, despite Jang Kun Lee's efforts to pick up touchpoints and soon after, Kandola completed a well deserved Super 10 that brought about a 27-21 lead for the Haryana Steelers.
Jaideep's inefficiency throughout the game meant that he gave away a lot of comfortable points to the opposition and just as the match was slipping away from Patna's reach, Pardeep pulled off a four-point raid that rewarded him with his 8th Super 10 of the season.
However, his efforts were in vain as the defensive unit continued to leak points and with Jang Kun Lee substituted by Mohammad Maghsoudlou, the change only went on to emphasise on Pardeep's one-man show on the night.
With just three minutes remaining, the three-time champions sustained a third All Out that shut out any hopes of a Patna comeback. In the finishing minutes, Pardeep picked up a couple of points but in the end, Haryana closed out a comfortable victory.
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