Chennai: The Gujarat Giants registered back-to-back wins while also completing the double against UP Yoddhas after a narrow 41-39 win at the SDAT Multi Purpose Indoor Stadium on Thursday evening. Rakesh Sungroya led the competition with his career-best performance, collecting 20 raid points and four tackles from Lucky Sharma. Meanwhile, Guman Singh’s Super 10 failed due to the Yoddhas.
This result also means league leaders Dabang Delhi KC confirm their place in the top eight, despite their loss to Bengal Warriorz earlier in the night.
With everything to be won in this competition, it was a quick start for both sides as both captains opened their team’s accounts. Rakesh Sungroya did most of the damage for Gujarat Giants in the early stages while Sumit Sangwan set the tone for his side with a few tackles. Guman Singh celebrated his appearance with a milestone of 600 raid points in the league as the two teams exchanged blows at the beginning.
Harish Kamatchi made his presence felt for the Gujarat Giants and supported Rakesh. For UP Yoddhas, Guman Singh kept the scoreboard ticking as both teams refused to give an inch. At the end of a hard-fought first quarter, his side were a point ahead thanks to a tackle from Mahender Singh.
Rakesh was on a roll for the Giants, completing his Super 10 with a multi-point raid on a do-or-die. He scored 10 out of 15 points for the Gujarat Giants and eventually scored the first ALL OUT of the game to give his team a 20-16 lead. In a hard-fought first half, his team had a three-point lead at 22:19.
Lucky Sharma registered the first tackle of the second half but Hitesh responded quickly for the Yoddhas. Rakesh continued his good run with another two-point push, further extending the Giants’ lead. They showed this dominance with their captain inflicting a second ALL OUT on their opponents, securing a ten point lead in the contest.
Mohammadreza Shadloui made several saves to maintain his team’s lead despite the slower pace. However, Guman Singh and Bhavani Rajput started the Yoddhas’ comeback with the former completing his Super 10. A tackle from Hitesh then helped them to an ALL OUT and reduced the deficit to three points.
He followed up with another tackle before a successful do-or-die raid from Bhavani Rajput helped them level the score at 36-36. Himanshu Singh made a crucial attack while Lucky Sharma made his fourth tackle of the night to give Gujarat Giants a two-point lead.
However, UP Yoddhas responded with a tackle from Mahender Singh and a tackle from Guman Singh and leveled the score again at 38-38 with a minute to go. Mohammadreza Shadloui had a chance to take the lead on the penultimate play of the game, giving the Giants a 40-39 lead. In the end, Ankit Dahiya sealed the deal with a tackle on Guman to give the Gujarat Giants a 41-39 win, keeping their playoff hopes alive.
