Star of the Day: Prashanth Kumar Rai

Name: Prashanth Kumar Rai

Team: Haryana Steelers

Position: Raider

Haryana Steelers completed a spirited second-half comeback to beat Zone A toppers Gujarat Fortunegiants 42-36 at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium in Kolkata on Saturday. The Fortunegiants were at their menacing best in the opening period and went into the break with a sizeable lead.

Step forward Prashanth Kumar Rai, who was deputizing for an injured Vikas Kandola, and now may have even cemented his spot in the starting 7 for Haryana’s next outing on the basis of his performance on the night. Prashanth notched up a game-high 16 points and made his presence felt in attack as well as defence.

Eleven of his 18 raids ended in success for Haryana with most of them coming at crucial junctures of the contest. He also managed two tackle points, which goes to show that he’s more than capable of holding his own in defence. However, what was most impressive about his performance was his temperament and composure in the closing stages of the encounter, where he continued to bamboozle Gujarat’s formidable defence and eventually lead his team to victory.