Pro Kabaddi 2019: Resilient Haryana Steelers down Bengaluru Bulls in a cliff-hanger
Haryana Steelers prevailed over the Bengaluru Bulls by a scoreline for 33-30 in a game that went to the final raid at the EKA Arena by TransStadia in Ahmedabad on Sunday. This victory was Haryana Steelers’ second on the trot and ended Bengaluru Bulls’ three-game winning streak in Season 7.
Vikas Kandola starred for Haryana Steelers with his second Super 10 in as many games.
Bengaluru Bulls’ raiders Pawan Sehrawat and Rohit Kumar were off the blocks quickly and combined for five raid points in the first four minutes, as they raced to a 6-1 lead. Vikas Kandola’s touch point in a Do-Or-Die raid and Dharmaraj Cheralathan’s Super Tackle helped Haryana Steelers cut down Bengaluru Bulls’ lead, but skipper Rohit scored three points in quick succession and reduced Haryana Steelers down to just a solitary man on the mat.
Bengaluru Bulls’ defence made no mistake in pinning down Naveen and inflicted the game’s first All-Out on Haryana Steelers. Bengaluru Bulls then added three more unanswered points before Vinay’s first raid point of the night followed by Kuldeep Singh’s tackle on Rohit started a good spell for Haryana Steelers, in which they outscored Bengaluru Bulls 7-2 and reduced them to just one man on the mat.
The defence successful tackled down Ashish Sangwan and inflicted the All-Out on Bengaluru Bulls in the final play of the half, as the teams went into the half-time break with Haryana Steelers trailing 16-17.
Rohit Kumar was the best raider and defender for the Bengaluru Bulls.
Kandola opened the scoring in the second half with a bonus point to level the scores, and the scores continued to stay close for the rest of the contest. A two-point raid from Rohit was followed by two more unanswered points for Bengaluru Bulls, but Kandola responded with a two-point raid of his own before Dashing Sehrawat off the mat in the subsequent raid.
Vikas Kale’s tackle on Sumit Singh and Kandola’s successful raid in a Do-Or-Die situation put Haryana Steelers up by two points with just over two minutes left in the contest. But Mohit Sehrawat’s touch point on Kuldeep revived Pawan Sehrawat and the reigning MVP showcased his value as a defender, tackling down Kandola to level the scores with under a minute to go in the match.
Sehrawat then came in to raid but was tackled by veteran Dharmaraj Cheralathan, which gave Haryana Steelers a slender lead with seconds left in the contest.
Vinay then successfully managed to get through Mahender Singh’s tackle attempt to put his team up by two. Rohit’s 10th raid point of the night brought Bengaluru Bulls within one point of Haryana Steelers. But Kandola came through for his team in final raid of the contest with a two-point raid, confirming their victory.
Top Performers:
Haryana Steelers -
Top Raider – Vikas Kandola
Top Defender – Vikas Kale
Bengaluru Bulls -
Top Raider – Rohit Kumar
Top Defender – Rohit Kumar
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