Haryana Steelers and Tamil Thalaivas played out a thrilling 32-32 tie in the Inter Zone Challenge Week of the Pro Kabaddi League. Vikas Kandola’s heroics once again turned the tide for Haryana Steelers as he scored 14 raid points.
For Tamil Thalaivas, it was a team effort with Sukesh Hegde (7 points), Ajay Thakur (6 points) and Manjeet Chhillar (4 points) combining to get 17 points. This was the second tie of the season between these two teams.
Tamil Thalaivas raced into a 4-1 lead with Jasvir Singh and Ajay Thakur getting a raid point each after four minutes. Thakur got another raid point with a flying hand touch in the fifth minute as Thalaivas led 7-2 Haryana Steelers got a tackle point in the eighth minute as they trailed 4-9.
Monu Goyat was sent to the bench once again by Thalaivas as they led 11-5 after 10 minutes. Sukesh Hegde’s two-point raid in the next minute saw Thalaivas extend their lead to 13-5. Haryana Steelers mounted a comeback as they scored four points in four minutes to cut the lead to 9-13.
Haryana Steelers inflicted an all out in the 16th minute as they led 14-13. Vikas Kandola showed his class once again as he got two-point raid to give Haryana Steelers 17-14 lead. At the end of the first half, Haryana Steelers showed remarkable grit to lead 19-15.
Haryana Steelers held a slender three-point lead after 25 minutes as the match was finely poised. Tamil Thalaivas cut the lead to just a point in 26th minute as they trailed 20-21. Ajay Thakur got another tackle point in the 28th minute as Thalaivas trailed 22-23.
Both teams weren’t ready to take many chances as the game progressed into tense finale. With just over five minutes to go, Haryana Steelers led 26-24.
Haryana Steelers made a silly error as Sachin Shingade stepped off the court as Tamil Thaliavas leveled the match at 27-27. Kandola and Hegde got a point each as both teams were tied at 28-28.
Tamil Thalaivas inflicted an all out in the 38th minute to take the lead at 31-29. Manjeet Chhillar made a strong tackle on Kandola as Tamil Thalaivas extended their lead to three points in the 39th minute. Vikas Kandola got a bonus point as it was a one-point game with less than 60 seconds to go. There was last-minute drama as Steelers asked for a review on an empty raid by Jasvir Singh but they weren’t successful as the match ended in a tie.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)