Pro Kabaddi League 2018: Puneri Paltan hammer Haryana Steelers 45-27

Haryana Steelers' poor defensive performance was the main reason for their third consecutive defeat.

Image: Twitter/Pro Kabaddi

Puneri Paltan climbed to the top of Zone A table in Pro Kabaddi tournament with a resounding 45-27 win over Haryana Steelers here on Sunday. Haryana Steelers' poor defensive performance was the main reason for their third consecutive defeat. VikasKandola put a solid all-round performance for Haryana Steelers and scored 11 points. Nitin Tomar got 10 points whereas Rajesh Mondal chipped in with 8 points to lead Puneripaltan to a comfortable win. It was an evenly contested affair in the first few minutes of the match as both teams were tied at 5-5 after seven minutes. Puneri Paltan then shifted gears with Nitin Tomar getting into the act. Tomar scored three points in two raids as Puneri Paltan inflicted an all out to lead 13-7 after 12 minutes. Rajesh Mondal then scored with a two-point raid to give Puneri Paltan 15-10 lead after 15 minutes. Haryana's star man Monu Goyat had a quiet first half which affected the team's performance. At the end of the first half Puneri Paltan enjoyed an eight-point lead with the score 19-11 in their favour. Vikas Kandola made a super raid in the 30th minute as Haryana Steelers cut the deficit to 20-31. Puneri Paltawere in no mood to surrender any advantage as they pocked tackle and raid points at regular intervals. With just over five minutes left Puneri Paltan led 34-23. Puneri Paltanwere exemplary in both attack and defence. While Haryana Steelers scored 20 raid points compared to Pune's 21, it was the tackle points which let them down. Puneri Paltan scored 16 tackle points wheres Haryana scored just four. In the last five minutes, Puneri Paltan kept their composure and kept on picking raid and tackle points. Haryana left themselves a mountain to climb and eventually fell short as they crashed to 27-45 defeat.