PKL: Rakesh Narwal leads Haryana Steelers to win against Telugu Titans

The Haryana Steelers were on song in their penultimate game of the league stage, winning by a whopping 50-33 against the Telugu Titans

Hyderabad: The Haryana Steelers were on song in their penultimate game of the league stage, winning by a whopping 50-33 against the Telugu Titans at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium.

Rakesh Narwal top scored with 11 points for the Haryana Steelers while substitute Lovepreet Singh light up the evening with a fine 20-minute cameo that saw him score 7 points.

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On home turf for one last time, the Telugu Titans were out of the blocks quicker than the Haryana Steelers, with K Hanumanthu and Mohsen Maghsoudlou kicking things off for them. However, within a matter of minutes, Vinay, Manjeet and Rakesh Narwal had helped the Haryana Steelers bounce back, wipe out the lead and edge ahead. By the midway stage of the first half, the Haryana Steelers had swung the contest their way, with a 7-point lead.

From then on in, Rakesh and Nitin Rawal continued to rake in the points at will, even as the Telugu Titans fought tooth and nail to stay in the contest. However, the troika of Vinay, Rakesh and Nitin had their own plans, as the teams went into the break with the Haryana Steelers leading the Telugu Titans by a scoreline of 26-11.

The Haryana Steelers started the second half with a much-changed line-up, but from the get-go had the Telugu Titans on the mat. Shortly into the second phase of play, Rakesh completed his Super 10 while Harsh was making his mark in defence as the Haryana Steelers continued to stretch their lead.

With just under ten minutes to go, the Haryana Steelers led by 23 points, and even though the Telugu Titans had Abhishek Singh soldiering on, a comeback wasn’t looking likely. In the final minutes, the Haryana Steelers kept their opponents at bay, and walked off with a big win, while the Telugu Titans brought down the curtains on their campaign with a defeat.