Pro Kabaddi League: Bengaluru Bulls secure a crucial win against Haryana Steelers

They experienced a brief moment at the peak of the rankings table before Puneri Paltan took over, all thanks to a poorly calculated move by the Haryana Steelers. Haryana decided to sideline in-form raider Meetu Sharma to let Vinay work his wonder. 

But the Bengaluru Bulls were immune to the ways of their opponents. Neeraj Narwal closed out as the top raider with nine points leading his team to victory. 

Manjeet Dahiya caught Bharat with an ankle hold in the opening minutes to supply a point for his team. However, the Bengaluru Bulls' captain Mahender Singh countered the attack and levelled the scoreline.

A Super-Raid by Neeraj Narwal arrived next, and Aman caught Nitin Rawal as the Bulls inflicted an All-Out on a weak opposition. 

The Haryana Steelers brought in Meetu Sharma to reduce the deficit, but it backfired, and the Bengaluru Bulls eked out another All-Out to extend their lead. Mayur Kadam entered right before the break and scored two tackle points allowing the Bengaluru Bulls to lead 27-11. 

The Haryana Steelers revelled in hope when Meetu Sharma executed a raid and two consecutive bonus points. Monu Hooda taking out Bharat also landed a critical point for the Haryana Steelers. 

Shortly after, the Haryana Steelers took advantage of an ill-timed error from Vikash Kandola as they continued to chip away at the gap. The score was 19-32 with the Bengaluru Bulls in the lead, but the Haryana Steelers lost momentum when Aman caught Manjeet, and Bengaluru began playing do-or-die raids.

A formidable Meetu Sharma exacted a Super Raid and led the Haryana Steelers to their first All-Out in the match. Although remarkable, it was ultimately not enough to initiate a full-blown resurgence. 

Meetu Sharma finished as the highest-scoring raider and leaving him out from the first seven might have cost Haryana the entire match! On the other hand, the bulls are back to their winning ways after two consecutive losses. 

Fazel Atrachali helps Puneri Paltan sink Tamil Thalaivas

Puneri Paltan defeated the Tamil Thailavas 35-34 in Wednesday's match at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune. Star player Fazel Atrachali stuck to his promise of besting Pune and seeing Narender out for his 400th tackle point in the competition. 

The Iranian secured five points and Aslam Inamdar raked in six. The Tamil Thalaivas were again adept at making a strong start to the game. Puneri Paltan's raiding department was no match for the fast-paced Tamil Thailavas. 

Their first All-Out of the game earned them a 14-8 lead. Pune's only saving grace was Fazel Atrachali, who touched the 400th tackle point of his career. 

The Iranian icon had 397 points before the game. It was recorded saying that he wanted to make Narender Hoshiyar his 400th tackle point and become the first defender to have crossed the milestone in the competition's history. 

He turned his fantasy into reality when he took out Narender Hoshiyar and crossed the 400 tackle point mark. His performance motivated Puneri Paltan to press harder, and they reduced their deficit to four points with five minutes remaining. 

Pune executed their first All-Out of the game in that period and took a 33-30 lead. However, they made a last-minute error that almost handed a victory to the Tamil Thalaivas.

Puneri Paltan's Gaurav Khatri denied Narender Hoshiyar in the final seconds, and his team finally emerged as winners. However, it is to be noted that Tamil Thalaivas have conceded once in the last six matches, and their resurgence has been remarkable till now!