Reigning champions Haryana Steelers opened their account in the ongoing PKL 2025 with a hard-fought victory over U Mumba at the Vishwanadh Sports Club in Vizag on Wednesday (September 3).
Haryana Steelers had suffered a defeat in their first game of the season against Bengal Warriorz. On the other hand, U Mumba came into the match after winning their opening two games. However, form counted for little as the defending champions beat the in-form side to register their first win of the season.
Ajit Chouhan and Naveen Kumar were the standout performers while Shivam Patare also made his presence felt during the tie-breaker.
PKL 2025: Haryana Steelers open account
With form on their side, U Mumba started the game brightly. Chouhan opened the account for his team with a successful raid early on. With the defenders also impressing in the early stage, U Mumba opened up a 5-0 lead to put themselves on the front foot. U Mumba further extended their advantage by inflicting an all out on the champions inside 10 minutes, leaving them trailing 2-12.
Chouhan continued his fine start to keep Haryana under pressure. With the match slipping away, Haryana finally started finding their feet. By the 10th minute, they reduced the deficit to 8-14. Later, Shivam tackled Chouhan to remove him and Haryana went on to inflict an all out. It narrowed the margin to 12-16.
Haryana kept on the pressure and leveled the score at 20-20 at one stage. At halftime, the score read 23-20 lead in U Mumba’s favour. Even though Haryana were trailing, they were firmly in the game after impressing in the second phase of the first half.
After the restart, U Mumba were quick to extend their lead to 24-21. With Sandeep coming up with a successful Do-or-Die raid, U Mumba opened up a 26-21. Just when it looked U Mumba finally had the game under their control, Naveen came up with two important raid points to cut the deficit to 23-26. From the other side, Chouhan completed his Super 10 to help his side extend their lead to 31-25.
While U Mumba were looking destined to win the match, Haryana clawed their way back in a stunning fashion. In the final three minutes, Naveen produced a stunning raid to help his side inflict an all out and take the lead for the first time in the match.
When the scores were tied at 34-34, U Mumba scored a bonus point to add another twist to the game. Patare then restored Haryana’s lead with a successful raid only to see Chouhan bring U Mumba on level terms. At the end of the regulation time, the score was 36-36, forcing a tie-breaker. Haryana went on to win the tie-breaker to seal their first win of the season.
Watch highlights: