Vikash Kandola was the star for Haryana Steelers as they beat U Mumba 37-26 in match 113 of Pro Kabaddi League Season 8.
Haryana started the match on the front foot with their captain Vikash Kandola leading the raids. He found easy points from the Mumbai defence and their leader Fazel Atrachali. At the other end, Mumbai’s Abhishek Singh kept upsetting the rhythm of the Haryana defenders with clever hand touches.
But it was Haryana’s early pressure that paid dividends when Vikash Kandola clinched a three-point raid and inflicted an ALL OUT in the 13th minute. That opened an eight-point lead for coach Rakesh Kumar’s Steelers.
But Mumbai immediately staged a comeback. Ajith Kumar also joined in the attack as Mumbai smelled an ALL OUT. Ashish however delayed Mumbai’s march with a few
clever raid points. The first half ended with Haryana leading by 18-13.
U Mumba finally got their ALL OUT in the first minute of the second half to make it a two-point match. Ajith Kumar and Abhishek Singh kept picking up the points as Mumbai kept piling the pressure on Haryana. But they answered in kind with Ashish aiding Vikash Kandola in the raids. The scores were 24-22 in favour of the Steelers with 10 minutes on the clock.
Haryana’s defence improved their game after the Time Out. Left corner defender Surender Nada was at the heart of all the tackles as they once again opened a healthy six-point lead. Raider Vikash Kandola also worked his magic at the other end to clinch a Super 10. The scores were 29-23 with less than five minutes remaining.
Coach Rakesh Kumar asked his Haryana team to slow down the match in the final minutes but his men kept picking points at will. They got another ALL OUT with a minute
remaining to widen the lead to nine points. Eventually, Haryana ran out winners with a comfortable 11-point margin.
Featured photo: Pro Kabaddi
