Haryana’s outstanding performance pushes the Haryana Steelers to second place in the points rankings
Ashish’s outstanding all-around performance guided the Haryana Steelers to a 37-29 victory over the Tamil Thalaivas. With this victory, the Steelers moved up to second place in the points standings.
Haryana got out to a fast start, jumping up to a four-point lead thanks to three raid points from Vikash and Vinay and two tackle points from their defence. The Steeler’s 5-0 run was interrupted by Athul MS’ touch point on Jaideep, but Vikash maintained his strong start and added a touch point of his own to reduce the Thalaivas to two players.
Following Akshay’s stunning Thigh Hold on Athul, the Thalaivas were left with only Surjeet Singh on the mat, and the skipper sacrificed a touch point to Vikash, inflicting an All Out on the Thalaivas.
Tamil responded in strong fashion and embarked on a 5-1 run, with Manjeet and Ajinkya Pawar leading the charge with three raid points. Two unanswered points from the Steelers pushed their lead back up to four. But the Thalaivas continued to pile the pressure and finished the half on a 5-2 run to go into halftime break trailing by three.
The first few minutes of the second half were evenly contested before a Super Raid from Ashish swung the tide in the Steeler’s favour. Two more touch points from Vikash reduced the Thalaivas to a solitary man as the Steelers closed in on another All Out.
A two-point raid from Pawar kept the All Out at bay and a Super Tackle from Surjeet reduced the deficit to two points. But the resistance didn’t last long as Pawar was pinned down by the Steelers’ defence and another touch point reduced the Thalaivas to only Surjeet on the mat. Haryana’s defence sat deep and allowed him to pick up the bonus before tackling him down to inflict an All Out and give the Steelers a six-point lead.
Two unanswered points from the Thalaivas cut the deficit to four, but Ashish ended Tamil’s hopes of a win with a sensational Super Raid that pushed the Steeler’s lead up to seven.
The sequence repeated itself, as the Thalaivas cut the deficit to five with two unanswered points before Ashish capped off with his stellar night with another Super Raid.
Top Performers
Haryana Steelers
Top Raider – Ashish (13 Raid Points)
Top Defender – Ashish (3 Tackle Points)
Tamil Thalaivas
Top Raider – Ajinkya Pawar (8 Raid Points)
Top Defender – Surjeet Singh (3 Tackle Points)
