PUNE: Despite the pressure from a partisan home crowd, the Haryana Steelers triumphed over Puneri Paltan 44-39 at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex on Friday. While Vinay's 15 points were undoubtedly a huge contributor, it was the Steelers' defensive duo Rahul Sethpal (6 points) and Jaydeep Dahiya (4 points) who were eventually responsible for their victory.
In a blistering start, Aslam Inamdar kicked off the game with a super raid to put the home side on the front foot. It didn't last long and almost immediately the Steelers responded with a super raid of their own, Vinay netting five Paltan players to leave them reeling. The first all out followed soon after as the Steelers took an 11-7 lead.
Puneri Paltan did not let that dampen their spirits and slowly chipped away at the lead. It took two super tackle in a row by Rahul Sethpal — who put in 4 of his team's 6 tackle points in the half — to save the Steelers' blushes. Eventually, though the Paltan inflicted an all out on the Steelers to take a 21-18 lead, which they took into the break.
The first half had been defined by high-quality raiding, with the teams logging a combined 25 raid points. The second half though belonged to a rejuvenated Steelers defence, who missed a mere three tackles in the period, while picking up a massive 9 points. Despite the Paltan's raiders' best efforts, the Steelers kept hurting them and keeping their numbers limited. They inflicted a second all out on the Paltan with two minutes remaining before wrapping up a 44-39 victory.
Saturday's fixtures: Puneri Paltan vs Bengal Warriors - 8 pm, Telugu Titans vs Dabang Delhi K.C. - 9 pm,