Vikash Kandola’s clutch raiding inspires Haryana Steelers to crucial victory over Dabang Delhi K.C.

A 13-point effort from skipper Vikash Kandola helped the Haryana Steelers upstage Dabang Delhi K.C. 36-33. Kandola was well-supported by Vinay, who finished the game with seven points, while on Delhi’s side, Sandeep Narwal led his team with nine points. With this win, the Steelers climbed to sixth position on the points table.

Delhi took a two-point lead early in the game, courtesy of Sandeep Narwal and Vijay’s strong start, but Vinay’s two-point raid turned the tide of the contest and put the Steelers in the ascendancy. Three touch points from Vikash Kandola and a stellar Dash by Mohit saw Haryana extend their scoring to 6-0 and leave Delhi with just a solitary man on the mat.

Sandeep managed to keep the All Out at bay with a two-point raid, but Vikash tagged the all-rounder in the subsequent raid and sent him to the bench, leaving Delhi with just a solitary man again. The Steelers’ defence made no mistake the second time around and pinned down Vijay to inflict the game’s first All Out and give the Steelers a five-point lead.

Haryana continued their onslaught and added three more points to their total to extend their lead to eight. Both teams added three points to their tally in the final few minutes of the half, as they went into the break with the Steelers leading 19-11.

A raid point from Ashu Malik and Vijay followed by Delhi’s first tackle point of the night saw Haryana’s lead diminish to six. The Steelers managed to curb Delhi’s surge through Surender Nada’s stellar block, and Vikash’s assured Running Hand Touch.

Trailing by eight, Delhi needed a moment of inspiration and got one in unconventional fashion. Vijay went in to raid and tried a Running Hand Touch on Ravi Kumar but failed to tag the defender and accidentally stepped into the lobby. Unaware of Vijay’s error, five Haryana defenders rushed to tackle the raider and entered the lobby, rendering them all out. This gave Delhi five points, while Haryana got one, turning the game on its head.

Vikash picked up two bonus points in two raids to push the Steelers’ lead to six, but Sandeep’s touch point on Ravi Kumar left them on the brink of an All Out. Vikash added another bonus to his tally but was promptly tackled by Sandeep, who also stepped out of bounds in his attempt to eliminate the Haryana skipper, giving both sides a point. In the subsequent raid, Vijay managed to tag the lone man on the mat before returning to his team’s half to inflict an All Out on the Steelers and cut his team’s deficit to three.

A two-point raid from Neeraj Narwal brought Delhi to within one of the Steelers’ total. Vinay added a touch point to his tally to restore a two-point lead for Haryana, but Neeraj wiped it out with another two-point raid, as the two teams were level on the scoreboard for the first time since the score was 4-4.

With the game finely balanced, Kandola stepped up and broke the tie with a two-point raid, and the Steelers defence followed in their skipper’s footstep, adding two tackle points to their team’s total to push the lead up to four. With time left for only two more raids, Ravi Kumar sacrificed a touch point by attempting an advance tackle on Sandeep.

Kandola went in for the game’s last raid and saw the clock wind down to zero to ensure victory for the Steelers. He attempted to add a touch point to his tally but was dashed out by Sandeep, whose momentum carried him out of bounds as well, giving both teams one point each.

Top Performers

Haryana Steelers

Best Raider – Vikash Kandola (13 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Surender Nada (3 Tackle Points)

Dabang Delhi K.C.

Best Raider – Sandeep Narwal (7 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Krishan (2 Tackle Points)