Hyderabad: A tactically astute Haryana Steelers defeated Jaipur Pink Panthers 31-27 to book their place in the finals of the PKL Season 10 here. The Steelers' first final was the result of a brilliant team performance, with their raiding duo of Vinay and Shivam Patare the stars on an emotional evening.
They will play Puneri Paltan for the title on March 1. Puneri Paltan overcame the challenge of Patna Pirates in the second semi final. The summit clash will be held at Gachibowli Stadium on Friday, March 1. Arjun Deshwal and Vinay traded raids constantly and with both defences firing there seemed to be little to choose between the two sides for the opening period.
The difference lay in the variety the Steelers offered on the raid. The majority of Jaipur's raid points this season have come via Arjun Deshwal and he contributed exactly 80 per cent of their raid points in the first half of the game. Without him the Pink Panthers looked lost and so the Steelers started targeting the lead man. Soon enough they inflicted the first ALL OUT of the game to take a 13-7 lead, and kept chugging away, with Vinay and Shivam Patare's dual attack offering no respite for the Pink Panthers.
The Steelers went into the break leading by 6 points. The Pink Panthers rallied in the second half, buoyed by Deshwal's ability to keep bringing back points from his raids. Their weak link though was a defence that was unable to stop the Steelers raiders from doing the same. Through the first 30 minutes, the Pink Panthers defence managed a mere three tackle points.
The Steelers raiders hit back and streaked into a six point lead. With Deshwal off the mat, the Pink Panthers looked out of sorts, and Vinay's do or die raid to take out Bhavani Rajput and Sunil Kumar put them on track for another all out.
A super tackle by Reza Mirbagheri staved off not just the all out but also brought the Pink Panthers to within four points with three minutes to play. In crunch time the Steelers were the ones who held their nerve, and Ashish's tackle on Deshwal with one minute left, effectively sealed the game. Meanwhile, in the second semi final Puneri Paltan sailed past three-time champions Patna Pirates and roared into the final with a 16-point win.
Puneri Paltan thrashed Patna Pirates 37-21. The heroics for Puneri Paltan were led by their skipper Aslam Inamdar's 7 raid points. Both Puneri Paltan and Patna Pirates exchanged early blows. Sachin was the pick of the raiders for the Patna Pirates once again but on the other side of the mat, an all-round performance from the Puneri Paltan slightly kept them ahead of their opponents. Patna Pirates fought to the very end but it was the Puneri Paltan who earned a big win.
It will be Puneri Paltan's second successive final.
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