Pro Kabaddi 2018: Maninder Singh becomes fastest player to reach 500 points as Warriors win; Steelers, Thalaivas play out draw

Kolkata: Bengal Warriors continued their hot streak in their home leg as they beat Telugu Titans 39-34, shortly after Tamil Thalaivas and Haryana Steelers played out a thrilling 40-40 tie at the NSCI stadium on Tuesday. [caption id=“attachment_5789661” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Bengal Warriors’ victory takes them into the playoffs on a positive note. Twitter@ProKabaddi[/caption] Maninder Singh scored 12 raid points for Bengal Warriors to lead his team’s charge. Maninder also became the fastest man to reach 500 points in Pro Kabaddi League as he achieved the feat in 56 matches. For Telugu Titans it was the youngster Armaan who stood out and scored 11 points. Bengal Warriors have already qualified for the playoffs while Telugu Titans ended their campaign with a defeat. Bengal Warriors got off to a flying start with Jang Kun Lee getting a super raid in the second minute. Telugu Titans fought back to level the match at 7-7 after five minutes. Maninder Singh continued to pick the points for Bengal Warriors in the first half. At the end of the first half, Bengal Warriors 23-15 with Jang Kun Lee getting a raid in the 20th minute. Bengal Warriors inflicted an all-out in the 26th minute to lead 30-18. For Telugu Titans, the performance of Anand was a revelation as he picked up raid points at will. After 30 minutes, Bengal Warriors led 32-22 and were in full control of the match. The Titans did try to mount a comeback but the deficit proved too much in the end as they crashed out of the league. Earlier, Haryana Steelers avoided defeat by scoring two points in the last minute, as they drew their match against Tamil Thalaivas. Monu Goyat top-scored for Haryana with 17 points, putting in a stellar performance. Ajay Thakur was in fine form for Tamil Thalaivas and he too scored 17 points. Haryana ended their league campaign on a positive note as did Tamil Thalaivas. Both teams finished bottom of the table in their respective zones. Tamil Thalaivas began strongly and led 3-0 after three minutes with Ajay Thakur picking up a raid point. Haryana Steelers came back to trail 3-4 after five minutes. It was a close affair in the first 10 minutes. Monu Goyat picked up a two-point raid in the 7th minute to level the match at 6-6. Haryana Steelers forced a super tackle in the 13th minute as they tied the match at 11-11. Anand was the star raider for Thalaivas in the first half. He picked up three raid points in two minutes as they led 16-14 at the end of the first half. Tamil Thalaivas inflicted an all out at the start of the second half to lead 19-16. Haryana Steelers weren’t deterred by the all out and kept picking up points. In the 26th minute, Haryana inflicted an all out to lead 27-23. Ajay Thakur made a super raid in the next minute to bring Thalaivas back in the match. In the 29th minute, Thalaivas inflicted an all out to lead 32-28. It was a closely fought encounter with both teams level on 36-36 after 36 minutes. Ajay Thakur picked up two raid points in two minutes to give Thaliavas 39-37 lead after 38 minutes. With inputs from Agencies.