On Sunday night, the Steelers were up against U Mumba, Bengaluru Bulls faced Jaipur Pink Panthers, and in the last match of the Pro Kabaddi League season 8 night, Gujarat Giants played the UP Yoddhas’.
The Haryana Steelers beat U Mumba by 37-26 and strengthened their position in the top six for the race for the playoffs. They were led by their captain Vikas Khandola who seems to have found his mojo back as he scored yet another Super 10, getting a total of 14 raid points.
He was ably supported by young and upcoming allrounder Ashish, who took a Super 10 and also got three tackle points. The experienced Surendra Nada also earned three tackle points.
U Mumba’s defenders, which played at their absolute best in the previous fixture, were completely lost against the Steelers as Rinku Singh and Fazel Atrachali could only manage a combined three tackle points.
Abhishek and V Ajith led the raiding duties yet again as they scored nine and seve raid points, respectively.
The Steelers now have 63 points from 20 games, and they are now not only almost certain to qualify in the playoffs but are in with a chance to qualify amongst the top two sides.
Mumba occupy the seventh spot, and all is not lost for them, but they would have to hope that they win their remaining games to have a crack at the Playoffs.
Bharat was the star for the Bengaluru Bulls as they edged out the Jaipur Pink Panthers in what was a close encounter for most part of the match. The Bulls beat the Panthers by 45-37. Bharat scored a whopping 15 raid points.
Pawan Kumar Sherawat acted as the support raider in the match as he too completed his Super 10. It was a raiders day out for the Bulls as their defence couldn’t manage many tackle points.
For the Panthers, Arjun Deswal shined yet again with another super 10, while Deepak Hooda contributed six raid points. Jaipur’s defence also didn’t click as apart from Sahul Kumar, no one managed more than a single tackle point.
This loss means that Jaipur now have only 52 points from 19 matches, and they are ninth. If they have to qualify for the playoffs, they would need other results to go their way. The Bulls, in turn, solidified their position in the top six with the win.
In the final game of the night, the Gujarat Giants beat the UP Yoddhas’ by 38-31. The Giants defence won the match on the back of an impressive performance from their defence as Girish Ernak completed his high five and scored six tackle points while Parvesh contributed with four tackle points.
Pardeep Narwal completed his thirrd consecutive Super 10 in the league but it went in vain as he didn’t get enough support from Surinder Gill.
Yoddhas’ defence also played well as Ashu Singh completed his high five, and Sumit scored four tackle points.
The Giants have entered into the top six, while the Yoddhas are now fifth in the standings.
