Vikas Kandola was the star for Haryana as he inspired the Steelers to a win over Patna Pirates in the first game of the night in Jaipur. This was then followed by a scintillating tie between Dabang Delhi and Bengaluru Bulls.
Patna Pirates vs Haryana Steelers (34-39):
Vikas Kandola was the star of the night as he picked up a Super 10 (13 raid points) to propel Haryana to a win over Pardeep Narwal’s Patna Pirates. The win saw Steelers consolidate their third position on the points table.
Haryana took the lead very early on in the game after Pardeep was successfully tackled twice in succession. Vikas’ crucial raids ensured that Steelers inflicted an early all-out to take a five point lead.
Steelers went into the break with a a two point lead (17-15). While Pirates fought back in the second half, Vikas made two multi-point raids for the Steelers which ensured that they extended their lead further.
Pirates slim hope of making a comeback in the game perished when Steelers inflicted another all-out on them with just three minutes to go, opening up a nine point lead.
Dabang Delhi vs Bengaluru Bulls: (39-39):
The second game of the night saw Bengaluru Bulls and Dabang Delhi play out a thrilling 39-39 tie. Delhi for most parts of the match were in the lead and looked to have bagged the win. But an inspired comeback from Bengaluru, courtesy Pawan Sehrawat, saw the sides settle for a tie.
Delhi’s Naveen Kumar picked up his 15th consecutive Super 10 and finished the match with 14 raid points. The first half was a closely fought contest with Delhi going into the break with a 2 point lead (22-20).
But from here, Delhi, inspired by Naveen, inflicted another all-out on Bengaluru to open up a huge 10 point lead. At this moment, it looked as though, Delhi had the game firmly within their grip.
But the return of Pawan Sehrawat to the mat saw Bengaluru Bulls claw their way back into the game. They inflicted an al-out thereby closing the lead once again to just two points.
With seven minutes to play, it looked to be anyone’s game from here on. Delhi got a two point cushion in the last minute and looked to have got out of jail when a couple of errors resulted in the match ending in a tie.
