The U.P. Yoddhas - owned by the GMR Group - settled for a mouth-watering 36-36 tie in match 61 of Pro Kabaddi League Season 9 match at the Shree Shivchhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi in Pune on Saturday, November 5.
The Steelers tried to trespass in the early minutes of the fixture, but it was new U.P. Yoddhas captain Pardeep Narwal who took charge and gave his side an early lead. While the Yoddhas tried to build on that momentum, Rakesh Narwal ensured the Steelers would be in touching distance after the first ten minutes.
With the clock ticking on, U.P. Yoddhas and Haryana Steelers remained toe-to-toe. The Yoddhas defence overpowered the Steelers’ raiders thereby inflicting an ALL OUT on the latter and sizing up a nine-point lead. The dominant U.P. Yoddhas ended the first half firmly in control, with the score reading 25-15 and Surender Gill notching a Super 10.
The second half, however, had a different story to tell. It was the Steelers who turned the tide of the contest, mounting a superb comeback through Manjeet and Meetu. Midway through the second half, U.P Yoddhas' 10-point lead was reduced to four as the momentum swung in the opposite way.
With five minutes to go, a big finish was on the cards as Haryana Steelers cut the deficit to just two points. Meetu would go on to level the scores to complete a whirlwind turnaround for the Steelers. The last significant piece of action saw Surender Gill's failed Do-or-Die raid attempt coinciding with a Haryana Steelers defender out of bounds. Thus, both teams settled for an eventual hard-fought draw.