Gujarat Giants beat bottom-placed Telugu Titans 40-22 courtesy of Rakesh HS’ heroics while raiding and their cohesive defensive performance in Match No. 48 of Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel and Convention Centre in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Gujarat Giants set the ball rolling after Rakesh Sungroya bagged a bonus point while Rajnish Dalal replied with a toe-touch to open the account for the Telugu Titans. Both sides kept the scoreboard ticking courtesy of their raiders exchanging blows before Rajnish escaped from tackles to give the Titans a two-point lead.
Mahendra Ganesh Rajput made the most of his height in his Do-or-Die raid to pick up two touchpoints and level the proceedings again. Gujarat found themselves upfront after Mahendra escaped from the holds of two defenders and picked up a bonus to make it a ‘Super Raid.’
Rakesh extended their lead after escaping from a dash while bagging another touch in his Do-or-Die raid. Parvesh Bhainswal initiated an ankle hold on the last man Adarsh T to force the first All-Out as Gujarat took a 15-8 lead in the first thirteen minutes.
Ankit grabbed Rajnish with a frontal thigh hold to take him out immediately after the revival of all the players, compounding the Telugu Titans’ problems further. Rakesh stooped low for a ‘Dubki’ and bagged three touchpoints in the process to complete his ‘Super 10.’
Mahendra Ganesh Rajput escapes from a tackle to win points for Gujarat Giants against Telugu Titans
Gujarat Giants were in firm control of the match at half-time as the scoreline favored them 20-13. Adarsh T bagged a toe-touch on Rakesh Narwal in his Do-or-Die raid while Mahendra got a bonus in his raid thereafter to keep the margin of the lead intact.
While Gujarat picked up bonus points, the Titans slowly and steadily took their players out with gripping tackles and flying kicks. Rajnish connected with a back-kick on Sumit Malik to complete his ‘Super 10’ but Sunil Kumar and Rathan K hunted him later in a ‘Super Tackle’ to take him down.
Parvesh’s dash on Ankit Beniwal at the last moment earned the Gujarat Giants another ‘Super Tackle’ as they took an 11-point lead heading into the final five minutes. The Giants showed no mercy thereafter as their defenders slowly cleaned up the Titans’ players.
They forced another All Out after Rakesh touched C Arun in a surrender raid with little more than a minute of play left and the scoreline reading 39-21. The Telugu Titans collectively tackled Rathan K in the last raid of the match but it proved to be a mere consolation for them as Gujarat won the match 40-22.
The win helped the Gujarat Giants leapfrog four positions in the points table as they now find themselves in the seventh position with 20 points from 8 matches. This happens to be their second victory in the league, with the previous one coming against the Jaipur Pink Panthers in their season opener.
The Telugu Titans, on the other hand, remain winless in the competition as they have only two draws to their name from eight matches. With most of their star players struggling with injury, the reserve bench has not risen to the ranks.
While the Gujarat Giants face off against the Bengaluru Bulls on Friday, the Telugu Titans will be looking forward to ending their winless run against UP Yoddha on Saturday.