Haryana Steelers ended their wait for a Pro Kabaddi League title as they defeated Patna Pirates in the final of the 11th season of the tournament on Sunday, December 29.
The Steelers, who were the runners-up to Puneri Paltan last time, got the better of the most successful PKL side in the final this time. They defeated the Pirates 32-23 in the showdown clash at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, Pune.
Steelers bossed the second half of the finale after the two teams were placed closely at 15-12 at the of the first half. They kept cashing points one after the other and inflicted an all-out to take an eight-point lead at 27-19 and kill the game. The Pirates had no answers for the combination of attack and defence the Steelers produced on the night of the final.
Steelers stars Mohammadreza Shadloui and Shivam Patre got their High 5s as they starred in the team's win. Meanwhile, Gurdeep Singh of Patna Pirates also registered a High 5 but his performance went in vain. Star Raider got to his 300th raid point but he ended on the losing side.
Player-turned-coach Manpreet Singh also got his hands on the PKL title that eluded him in his coaching career. While he is a former PKL winner, Manpreet had to face multiple heartbreaks in his coaching tenure. He lost the PKL finals as coach in seasons 5, 6 and 10 but has now got the trophy he wanted.
Pirates are the most successful team in the history of the tournament. They had won the PKL three times previously and all those victories came in consecutive seasons - 3, 4, and 5. They had earlier lost the final only once which came in the eighth season to Dabang Delhi K.C a few years ago.
Haryana Steelers starting 7: Shivam Patare, Vinay, Jaideep, Rahul. Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh, Sanjay, Naveen
Patna Pirates starting 7: Ankit, Devank, Ayan, Deepak, Navdeep, Gurdeep, Shubham Shinde
