Noida, Nov 11
Haryana Steelers stole the show with a magnificent comeback win against U Mumba, overturning a nine-point deficit to win 48-39 at the Noida Indoor Stadium on Monday. Mohammadreza Shadloui, Shivam Patare, and Vishal Tate rounded off a complete performance to give Haryana Steelers the win, despite Ajit Chouhan getting 18 points for U Mumba.
The focus was on two of the strongest defences this season, but it was the raiders who made a fast start to this game. Ajit Chouhan flew off the blocks with a two-point raid, getting Mohammadreza Shadloui off the mat early in the contest. After some quick exchanges, Shivam Patare responded for his team with a two-point raid of his own, giving Haryana Steelers a two-point lead.
That didn't last too long though, because Ajit Chouhan was on a roll and putting on a show of his own. He executed a brilliant Super Raid to put U Mumba back in the lead and followed it up with another two-point raid, inflicting an All Out on Haryana Steelers within the first 10 minutes of the match.
That helped U Mumba take a significant lead before Vishal Tate helped the Haryana Steelers close the gap. His team had no answer for Ajit Chouhan raids though, as he completed his Super 10 in the first half itself.
Mohammadreza Shadloui -- who became the fastest to score 300 Tackle Points in PKL history -- and Shivam Patare helped Haryana Steelers stem some of U Mumba's momentum towards the end of the half, closing the gap to one point after they managed an ALL OUT of their own, closing out a hard-fought first half with a scoreline of 23-22 in U Mumba's favour.
After scoring 14 points in the first half, Ajit Chouhan picked up from where he left off. A fascinating battle unfolded between him and Shivam Patare as they exchanged some quick raids, with the latter completing his Super 10 in the second half, levelling up the scores at 29-29 at one stage.
The game turned on its head rather quickly as the Haryana Steelers roared back into the lead courtesy of some sharp raids from Shadloui. His side inflicted an All Out on U Mumba, taking a five-point lead halfway through the second half.
The Iranian completed his High Five as the Haryana Steelers extended their lead in the closing stages. Unfortunately for U Mumba, it was a one-man show from Ajit Chouhan with his 18 points in the game.
They did get a glimmer of hope with Shadloui getting a yellow card with under two minutes to go. However, Vishal Tate closed things out for the Haryana Steelers as he completed his Super 10, making sure his team got over the line.