Pro Kabaddi League 2018, Haryana Leg: Hits and misses from Haryana Steelers
The Haryana Steelers' woeful run in their home leg as part of the Pro Kabaddi League season six came to an end as U Mumba inflicted a 32-42 loss on the Steelers, who could manage to claim just one win from five matches at the Motilal Nehru Sports School in Sonipat, Haryana.
Hit by the loss of Surender Nada from their opening fixture of the season, the Steelers put in a good show against the Gujarat Fortune giants to win 32-25 but post the win, Monu Goyat's men failed to impress as they lost all their remaining matches and face the uphill task of making a comeback to challenge the other teams in the title race.
The Steelers' 26-53 loss against U Mumba was the biggest talking point of the home leg as the hosts could barely negate the challenge that stood ahead of them as they fell to the season's biggest loss so far.
The defense unit looked hapless against Puneri Paltan in their next game as Kuldeep, Sunil, Mayur Shivtarkar and Sachin Shingade combined to pick up just three points, highlighting their inefficiency.
Against the Jaipur Pink Panthers, the Steelers put up a better resemblance of a fight as the difference was only three points at the final whistle in a game that saw young Naveen emerging as the Steelers' best player with 17 points, including 15 raid points and two tackle points.
The Steelers enjoyed only a few moments in a faltering campaign, which had more misses than hits throughout. Here are few of those hits and misses from their campaign.
#1 Hit: Rise of Naveen
In a home stretch that saw the experienced likes of Monu Goyat and Vikash Khandola struggle for consistency, young Naveen exceeded expectations as he took the task with aplomb, outscoring his team-mates in most of the games.
Against the Fortunegiants, Naveen's nippy raiding and useful tackling saw him finish with six points but Naveen's real moment of glory came in the game against the Jaipur Pink Panthers, when he finished with a total of 17 points, comprising of 15 raid points and two tackle points but unfortunately finished on the wrong side of the result.