The brave moment of the match was Vikas Kandola’s super raid which revived Haryana’s fortunes. The fittest player of the match was Ravinder Pahal who made crucial tackles for Dabang Delhi KC.
Haryana Steelers ended their home leg in Sonepat with a hard-fought 34-31 win over Dabang Delhi KC. It was an impressive team performance by Haryana and stopped a four-match losing streak. Vikas Kandola came up with crucial raids and got able support from Monu Goyat and Naveen Kumar. Dabang Delhi didn’t do much wrong but failed to capitalize on opportunities. Their star man Meraj Sheykh had a disappointing match and scored just two points.
Monu Goyat got Haryana to a flying start as he scored three points in the first minute to give them a 3-1 lead. Pawan Kadian made a successful raid in the third minute as Dabang Delhi KC trailed 2-4. Haryana Steelers’ defence did a fine job on Delhi raiders as they led for the majority of the first half.
Naveen Kumar scored with a two-point raid in the 16th minute as Dabang Delhi avoided an all out. Dabang Delhi forced a super tackle in the 17th minute as they leveled the game at 13-13. Another super tackle by Dabang Delhi in the 20th minute gave them the lead for the first time in the match. At the end of the first half Dabang Delhi led 16-14.
Dabang Delhi forced another super tackle at the start of the second half and led 19-15 after 25 minutes. Haryana Steelers responded with a super tackle of their own as they cut the lead to two points.
Vikas Kandola came up with a brilliant super raid in the 28th minute and Haryana Steelers inflicted an all out to lead 23-20. With less than 10 minutes to go the match was evenly poised as Haryana Steelers had a two-point advantage. Vikas Kandola made another super raid in the 32nd minute as Haryana Steelers led 28-22.
Haryana Steelers led 30-25 with less than five minutes to go. Chandran Ranjit scored with a crucial two-point raid as Dabang Delhi trailed 28-32 in the 38th minute. Haryana Steelers kept their nerve in the last two minutes of the match and registered a much-needed victory.
In tomorrow’s matches Pardeep Narwal’s Patna Pirates will take on Telugu Titans while Puneri Paltan will face Jaipur Pink Panthers.
