Haridwar (Uttarakhand) [India], March 17 : Yuva Yoddhas, Jaipur Pink Cubs, and Warriorz K.C. won their respective matches on Day 12 of the Yuva All-Stars Championship in Haridwar on Monday. Palani Tukers and Kurukshetra Warriors breathed fire when they faced off against each other to spice up their rivalry, as per the Yuva All-Stars Championship press release.
In the first match, Yuva Yoddhas defeated Vasco Vipers 37-29. The team scored 22 points in the first half, including an All Out to take a 22-11 lead. The Vipers had a great outing in the second half, courtesy of a Super Tackle and an All Out. However, their efforts weren't enough to put them past the line as they fell short by eight points.
The Yoddhas replace Yuva Mumba at the top of the Pool B standings with 33 points. Meanwhile, the Vipers are placed at the bottom of Pool A with eight points from nine encounters. Yoddhas' Shivam Singh was the star player with 13 raid points, including 11 touchpoints and two bonus points.
In the second match, Warriorz K.C. beat the UP Falcons 38-28. The Falcons got off to a great start, picking up some early points and inflicting an All Out on their opponent. They went into the half-time break with an 18-13 lead. Punit Kumar's Super Raid helped the Warriorz K.C. inflict an All Out and take a one-point lead in the early moments of the second half.
The Bengal-based franchise had a great run in the second half, adding 25 points to their tally. They registered a comfortable 10-point victory and have moved to the second position in Pool A. The Falcons are placed fourth in Pool A with 26 points. 18-year-old Punit Kumar was the top performer, scoring 13 raid points.
Later in the day, Kurukshetra Warriors and Palani Tuskers played out a thrilling 38-38 tie. The Warriors took a 4-0 lead following a Super Raid in the first raid of the match. Palani Tuskers levelled the game with two Super Tackles, but the Kurukshetra inflicted an All Out to take a four-point lead, the Yuva All-Stars Championship press release added.
After a close-fought first half, both sides went into the break with the scoreboard reading 16-16. The Tuskers took a four-point lead, inflicting an All Out on the Warriors, but the latter side got back into the game with an All-Out on their opponent. Palani Tuskers inflicted another All Out on Kurukshetra to take back the lead and held onto it for five minutes.
The Warriors took a two-point lead but two successful raids by Palani Tuskers in the dying moments of the match forced both teams to share points. Palani are third in Pool A, while the Warriors are last in Pool B. Sachin Jagbir's 13 raid points were the highlight of the action-packed contest on Monday.
Jaipur Pink Cubs defeated Junior Steelers 36-27 in a Pool A encounter. An evenly-contested first half ended 17-15 in favour of the Pink Cubs, but the Steelers levelled the scores 18-18 in the early moments of the second half. The Jaipur-based club bagged eight points in a row before conceding a point to Haryana. They held onto their lead tightly and won the match by nine points.
Parvinder was shown the green card twice but was the top performer with 15 raid points. Jaipur Pink Cubs have retained the top spot in the Pool A standings with 39 points. Junior Steelers have slipped to fifth place with 18 points from eight outings.
Please find below the schedule for Yuva All-Stars Championship matches on Tuesday, March 18:
Match 49 - Chandigarh Chargers vs Sonipat Spartans, 10:15 am
Match 50 - Warriorz K.C. vs UP Falcons, 11:45 am
Match 51 - Yuva Yoddhas vs Palani Tuskers, 4:00 pm
Match 52 - Yuva Paltan vs Yuva Mumba, 5:30 pm.