Mumbai: It proved to be a close battle as Tamil Thalaivas and Haryana Steelers played out to a 32-32 draw during the Pro Kabaddi League Season 6 match here at Dome Arena of the NSCI Indoor Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Tamil Thalaivas were the first ones to score when Monu Goyat, captain of Haryana Steelers was unsuccessful in his raid. Immediately, Ajay Thakur captain of Tamil Thalaivas scored the first raid point as the score read 2-0. Jasvir Singh earned back to back bonus points as Tamil Thalaivas led by 3 points with the score reading 5-2, five minutes into the second half.
In the seventh minute, D Pradap got Naveen down as the Thalaivas raced to a 9-3 lead as thing looked in their control. Meanwhile in the 10th minute, Sukesh Hegde scored two points when he touched Sunil and Praveen and escaped the ankle hold of the opponents which got the score line to 10-4 with things looking good for Tamil Thalaivas.
With a little over five minutes to go for the first half to end, the score read 13-10 with Haryana Steelers slowly catching up. A good display by Kuldeep Singh who came out with a good waist hold from almost the centre of the court saw an all out being scored on Tamil Thalaivas.
After the all out, the scores were equalised at 13-13 with the game getting close and the Steelers looking to take the all important lead.
Finally Harayana Steelers, managed to get ahead with Vikash Khandola displaying a good game, scoring some much needed points, as the first half ended with the score reading 15-19 with the Steelers having the egde as the made a good comeback .
In the second half, the Steelers, continued to score points as the score line read 18-21, five minutes into the second half.
In the 28th minute, Ajay Thakur made no mistake as he scored a good point after turning away from a block attempt which came in from the right side as the score read 22-23. This was the 100th raid point for the Thalaivas captain for the sixth season.
And with just seconds to go for the match to end, the scores stood equalised at 32-32 which turned out to be the final score.
Results:
Tamil Thalaivas 32 (Sukesh Hegde 7, Ajay Thakur 6, Manjeet Chhillar 4, Jasvir Singh 4, D Pradap 3, Ponparthiban 2) drew with Haryana Steelers 32 (Vikas Kandola 14, Naveen 5, Kuldeep Singh 3, Parveen 2, Sunil 2, Sudhanshu Tyagi 1).
Top raider: Kandola (14 points, Haryana Steelers).
Top defender: Manjeet Chhillar (4 points, Tamil Thalaivas).
