Eagles are up for the second inter-zonal round

Once again Thyagaraj stadium was flooded with Dabang fans, who turned up in massive numbers to watch us play. The match started on a defence note as both the teams initially took their time. Rohit Baliyan (5 points) picked up a couple of bonus points to give us an ideal launch pad. But Haryana Steelers inflicted two early all-outs on us as they quickly extended their lead ahead. Iranian duo, Meraj (4 points) and Abolfazl (1 point) had a tough day on the mat, which hampered us big time. Till the halfway stage we were trailing 9-23.

Post interval, we made a good comeback as our defenders got their A game into play. Satpal (6 points) was brilliant with his tackles. He was so instrumental, that he kept fighting till the last moment. Sunil (1 point) and Viraj (1 point) played a good second fiddle. Satpal Narwal also became the first rookie from Delhi to pick up a High 5. Even Anand Patil (2 points) and Suresu Kumar (2 points) gave their all. But in the end, Haryana Steelers won the match by 24-42. Though we played well and were certain to win a match on each day of our ongoing home leg somehow we are lacked the finishing ability.

Our next opponent is zone B table topper Patna Pirates. From here on all three home matches are inter-zonal clashes. Pardeep Narwal is in sublime form and he is leading from the front. Though there are other big names like, Monu Goyat and Jaideep in their squad, who are equally dangerous. We have performed well in the inter-zonal battles previously, so we will look to capitalize on this and win as many matches as we can from here.