CHENNAI: Vikas Kandola did the star turn as Haryana Steelers beat U Mumba 30-27 for an important win in their Pro Kabaddi League encounter at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here on Monday. It was a very close match and Mumbai side match the Steelers till the end. However, it was Kandola’s nine-point game and unexpected errors from U Mumba defence clnched it for Haryana.
The two sides went into the match with identical records (four wins and four losses), but Steelers showed aggression and intent.
The defence kept a high line, strangling U Mumba’s opportunities to pick up bonus points, thereby forcing them to make mistakes while Kandola garnered the points with his raids in the other end. His three-point super raid 12 minutes into the match set the tone for the Haryana side, which inflicted an all-out on U Mumba with three minutes remaining to half-time. In the second half, the introduction of raider Abhishek Singh by U Mumba brought about a change in the proceedings as his raids helped the team reduce the lead to just two points 10 min into the half.
Super tackles by Ravi Kumar and Chand Singh, along with a few errors by Mumbai, quickly widened the gap to 25-17 in favour of Haryana with seven minutes to go. Sandeep Narwal’s raid for Mumbai with six minutes left on the clock, taking out Dharmaraj Cheralathan and Chand Singh, tilted the balance of the match once again and the subsequent all-out meant the gap was reduced to one point with less than three minutes remaining.