Haryana Steelers beat Patna Pirates, move to sixth place in PKL

New Delhi, Oct 13 (PTI) Defending champions Haryana Steelers broke their five-match losing streak with a come-from-behind 39-32 win over Patna Pirates in a Pro Kabaddi League here on Monday.

The win took Steelers to the sixth position in the standings.

Jaideep Dahiya led the way with a High Five, recording six tackles on the night, while Shivam Patare completed his Super 10.

Meanwhile, Ayan Lohchab's 17 points went in vain for Patna Pirates.

It was an engaging start to the game as Maninder Singh and Vinay opened the scoring for their respective sides. Ayan didn't waste any time to make his mark either, scoring his first points with a multi-point raid, and then soon followed it up with a tackle on Shivam Patare.

In a tight start, both the teams couldn't be successful on their respective first do-or-die raids.

Haryana Steelers' defence kept them on level terms with Hardeep and Rahul Sethpal contributing to the cause, before a tackle from Balaji D and a raid from Ayan gave Patna Pirates an 8-6 lead after the opening 10 minutes. The defending champions instantly responded though, with a super tackle courtesy Rahul Sethpal.

Ayan Lohchab then helped his team open up a seven-point gap, inflicting the first all out of the game on the defending champions.

However, the Steelers showed their mettle and struck right back, with Hardeep chipping in on the defensive end and Shivam Patare making an impact on the offensive end.

In this topsy-turvy encounter, the momentum swung back in the Pirates' favour at the stroke of half time.

Ayan recorded nine raid points, while Vaibhav Garje recorded successive tackles to ensure their team held a significant 20-14 lead halfway through the game. PTI SSC BS BS