Pro Kabaddi League 2017, Day 5: Haryana Steelers, Gujarat Fortunegiants play out tie; Bengal Warriors hand Telegu Titans fourth defeat on trot

Courtesy: PTI

New Delhi: The 2017 edition of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) witnessed first tied match of the season as Gujarat Fortunegiants and Haryana Steelers played out a thrilling 27-27 draw even as hosts Telugu Titans suffered their fourth consecutive defeat with a 24-30 loss to Bengal Warriors at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium on Wednesday.

In the first match of the day, Haryana Steelers produced a stunning comeback to share the spoils with a rather overconfident Gujarat Fortunegiants outfit in their Zone A encounter. Haryana skipper Surender Nada led the resurrection with his inspiring tackles. He contributed with seven tackle points. His effort was ably supported by raider Vikash Khandola, who returned with seven points.

PKL debutants Fortunegiants, who opened their campaign with a convincing win over Dabang Delhi yesterday, enjoyed a brilliant spell in the early part of the match and were leading 20-13 at one point. But the newbies failed to consolidate the lead and ended up sharing the points.

For them, Mahendra Rajput, who was used as a substitute raider, played an important part with five raiding points. Skipper Sukesh Hegde and Sachin got three raiding points each, while Sunil Kumar and Parvesh Bhainswal got three tackling points each.

In the second match, Titans were overwhelmed by Warriors' brilliant team-work after a good start. Skipper Rahul Chaudhari once again failed to lead from the front, and he was even seen arguing with the umpire despite sharing a point in one of their raids. The skipper latter admitted that he wasn't sure of the point received. 

Warrior's Maninder Singh with 11 points was the most successful raider of the match, but it was South Korean crowd favourite Jang Kun Lee who led the visitors with an inspiring performance. The all-rounder scored eight raiding points, besides orchestrating some of the tackles in defence.

The win helped Warriors opened their campaign with a win in Zone B, while Titans suffered fourth successive defeats in five outings. They opened the 2017 campaign with a win over U Mumba in the tournament opener on Friday, but lost to two-time defending champions Patna Pirates, Bengaluru Bulls and UP Yoddha.

For Telugu, Vikas Tanwar contributed with eight points, while Chaudhari and Nilesh Salunke bagged five points each. but they couldn`t stop their team from suffering fourth loss in five outings.

Both the sides enjoyed blistering raids in the opening 10 minutes, but it was the visitors who have managed to kill off the contest with an all-round display.

On Day 6 of the competition tomorrow, Titans will take on Pirates, while Bulls play Tamil Thalaivas at the same venue.