Pro Kabaddi League 2017: Puneri Paltan's all-round performance helps them beat Haryana Steelers

Ranchi: A superb all-round performance by Puneri Paltan saw them register a comfortable 37-25 victory over Haryana Steelers in the fifth Pro Kabaddi League on Tuesday. Sandeep Narwal (nine points), Rajesh Mondal (seven points) were the main contributors but it was a real team effort which led Pune to victory. [caption id=“attachment_4060925” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Puneri Paltan had also beaten the Haryana Steelers in the Sonepat leg. Image courtesy: Twitter @PuneriPaltan[/caption] The Puneri Paltan raiders chipped in with 15 points whereas the defence contributed 17 points. For Haryana, Surjeet Singh was the sole performer as he ended up with 9 raid points. Puneri Paltan are now third in Zone A with 42 points from 11 matches. Haryana Steelers remain second with 49 points after 16 matches. Puneri Paltan led 2-0 in the first minute after scoring a raid and tackle point. Wazir Singh made a successful raid in the second minute to open Haryana Steelers’ account. Both teams were neck and neck after five minutes with the score level at 4-4. Rajesh Mondal made a successful raid in the 9th minute to give Puneri Paltan 7-4 lead. Haryana Steelers fought back to make it 7-7 in the 10th minute. In the 17th minute, Deepak Hooda made a successful raid to give Puneri Paltan 10-9 lead, which they extended to 16-10 after inflicting an all out in the 18th minute. Haryana Steelers scored two points in a minute at the start of the second half to trail 12-17. Puneri Paltan were looking in control of the match as they led 20-13 after 25 minutes. Surjeet Singh scored with a two-point raid as Haryana Steelers trailed 17-22 after 30 minutes. Rajesh Mondal restored Puneri Paltan’s seven-point advantage with a two-point raid in the next minute. Puneri Paltan then inflicted an all out in the 35th minute to lead 33-20. Haryana were looking hapless and completely out of sorts as they couldn’t match Paltan’s intensity. Surjeet Singh scored with three successful raids to help Haryana reduce the deficit to 24-35 in the 38th minute. But Puneri Paltan were the better defensive unit on the night as won the match 37-25.