Self-preservation the bigger nemesis of Haryana Steelers, not Puneri Paltan | PKL 2023-24 Final

Had that behemoth of a man - known largely by the incorruptible defences he made of those standing in front of him without whim or fancy - made a lunge that precipitated the fall his team bore on the left-corner, the Haryana Steelers may have lived to see another day.

Or perhaps the sun may have set on their season much later than it did. Mohit Nandal seemed a desolate man when the Steelers ran out of time, but hugging him inconsolably was another defender who had chosen self-preservation over the team's crest that night - Rahul Sethpal - without much left in terms of ego anymore in this cat-and-mouse fight.

And cat-and-mouse it had been from the time the clock started ticking, long after the elaborate opening cheers had died down, and long after the elegantly dressed anchors at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad had settled down to let the real stars of the evening come out.

Coach Manpreet Singh of the Steelers seemed amiable enough to pat captain Jaideep Dahiya on the back; Nandal was quick to see this from the corner of an eye and sacrifice himself at the altar even as Sanket Sawant and Gaurav Khatri of the Puneri Paltan cheered with glee at their latest acquisition.

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The phantom of leaving Siddharth Desai on the bench for far too long will haunt coach Manpreet Singh

Star raider Vinay being pinned down by Puneri's defenders in the PKL final on Friday. [PKL Media]

The Steelers battled the Paltan on the night, but they battled themselves much more.

The tenacity with which the former approached the game and tried to turn it in their favour without getting much help from their star raider Vinay seemed boggling to the untrained eye. Yet, it would not have been a Steelers game had someone else not put their hand up and stood up to be counted.

That turned out to be Shivam Patare on the night, tackling the Puneri defenders fearlessly and delving deep into their half just as much as he did into his own subconscious.

The phantom of bringing Siddharth Desai on far too late in the game will not leave coach Manpreet - indeed it is likely to haunt him for the rest of the year as PKL awaits another edition - but one feels for the creases of worry appearing on his forehead.

To have warped themselves in the capsule of time that so gently presented itself at their feet, with history awaiting to be made - the Steelers may well be their best critics with regards to where those three points evaded them.