Visakhapatnam, Sept 3 (IANS) Haryana Steelers clinched their first win of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 12 against U Mumba in a thrilling encounter that went to the tie-breaker — the third one in 12 games — at the Vishwanadh Sports Club on Wednesday.

Ajit Chouhan’s Super 10 and Naveen Kumar’s game-changing Super Raid headlined a clash that swung wildly before Shivam Patare’s stunning strike in the tie-breaker sealed it for the Steelers.

U Mumba got off to a flying start against the defending champions, with Ajit Chouhan opening the account through a successful raid. A couple of strong tackles followed, and U Mumba quickly raced to a 5-0 lead. The pressure mounted on the Steelers, and within just over six minutes, they were handed an ALL OUT, leaving them trailing 2-12. This was the fastest All-Out by any team in the ongoing edition.

Ajit Chouhan continued to shine, adding valuable raid points and keeping Haryana under pressure. However, the defending champions began to make a comeback. By the 10th minute, they reduced the deficit to 8-14. Soon after, Shivam tackled Ajit to remove U Mumba’s key raider, and the Steelers capitalised by enforcing an ALL OUT of their own, narrowing the margin to 12-16.

The momentum shifted further in the closing stages of the half. A brilliant raid by Vinay brought the Steelers closer, and a superb tackle on Ajit in the final three minutes made it 19-20. Vinay then levelled the scores at 20-20 with a successful raid. But U Mumba responded immediately, holding their nerves. Thanks to that resurgence, they reduced the deficit to just three points, as U Mumba went into the break with a slender 23-20 lead.

U Mumba quickly regained control, extending their lead to 24-21 within the first two minutes. A calm finish from Sandeep in a Do-or-Die raid pushed the advantage further to 26-21. But just when it looked like U Mumba would pull away, Naveen Kumar stepped up in the 15th minute with two crucial raid points, cutting the deficit to 23-26. Ajit Chouhan soon completed his Super 10, helping U Mumba push ahead once again at 31-25 early in the final quarter.

But the Steelers weren’t done. Naveen continued to lead their charge, reducing the gap to 27-31 in the 7th minute of the half. Then came the game-changing moment; in the final three minutes, Naveen Kumar produced a stunning raid, inflicting an ALL OUT to put Haryana Steelers ahead for the first time in the match.

With the scores tied at 34-34 after U Mumba managed a bonus point, the drama only intensified. Shivam Patare gave the Steelers the lead again with a successful raid, but Ajit Chouhan quickly struck back to level things up. Naveen then faltered in a crucial raid, handing the advantage back to U Mumba. In the dying seconds, Ajit Chouhan went in for a Do-or-Die raid but was caught, allowing Haryana Steelers to snatch a point and force a 36-36 tie, sending the contest into a tie-breaker.

This was U Mumba’s second tiebreaker of the season, but it was Haryana Steelers who struck first. The tiebreaker was a rollercoaster, with both teams trading blows in quick succession.

U Mumba struck first through Sunil Kumar and Sandeep, while Ajit Chouhan added to his tally with yet another raid. The Steelers, however, responded with resilience – Jaya Soorya and Vinay chipped in with crucial points before Shivam Patare produced the moment of the contest, a stunning Super Raid that wiped out Rohit Raghav, Sandeep, and Rinku in one go.

That decisive strike swung the momentum firmly in Haryana’s favour, and despite Mumbai’s attempts to claw back, the Steelers held their nerve to edge ahead in the final exchanges and clinch a thrilling tie-breaker victory.

–IANS

hs/bsk/