Pro Kabaddi League PKL Season 10 Highlights: Puneri Paltan dominates Gujarat Giants by 10 points; Tamil Thalaivas thrash Bengaluru Bulls by 17 points

Nabi legitimises the raid and spends his time staring down Shadloui. The Iranian comes in to raid and legitimises the raid and even gets the bonus I think. Fazel tells his boys to stay back. He then runs the clock down. Shadloui given the bonus. Fazel sends Parteek in asking him to try and get a point. Shadloui catches him and brings him down. SUPER TACKLE by the Iranian and Gujarat is denied anything from this game. Shadloui is beaming. Job well done. Puneri Paltan does the double on Gujarat Giants. 

Fazel and Nabi close out Pankaj Mohite in the left corner and ushers Pankaj off the mat. Gujarat now within that 7 point margin to salvage a point. Can they keep it going? A minute to go. At least three raids, if things proceed quickly. 

Pankaj Mohite puts in an empty raid. Nabibakhsh comes in to raid. He thinks he has two points. Referee asks Nabibakhsh if he wants a review, but Nabibakhsh helplessly says he has no review. Ah, that wasted review from the first half coming to bite him. Gujarat gets the review from the officials. He has the touch on Gaurav Khatri and the dash on Sanket Sawant. We need to see if he has gone from inside the the line. Nifty work by Nabibakhsh but all coming a little too late. TWO POINTS FOR NABIBAKHSH. Can they salvage a point from this?

Nitin is stranded by a double pronged defensive wave. Both sides fall into each other with the Gujarat raider between them. Nabibakhsh gets a point with a nice kick on Aslam in right cover. 

DOD raid for Gujarat. Parteek is sucked in by the right corner. He has a very predictable trajectory on the mat. Gaurav Khatri is gifted a tackle point here. Under five minutes to go in this game. Fazel has consistently asked his raiders to target Gaurav. Nabibakhsh puts in an empty raid. Pankaj Mohite now comes in for a DOD raid. Fazel taps the mat to invite him and puts him an anklehold. SOLO SUPER TACKLE.

Ram Mehar Singh is looking extremely unhappy on the bench. Aslam Inamdar comes in for a DOD raid and comes in with bursting pace. He targets the right corner. Finally, Gujarat brings him down as they take Aslam deep. Parteek initiating the tackle. That brings Fazel back on the mat and he is leading the talk during the timeout. SUPER TACKLE BY GUJARAT.

Pankaj Mohite jumps over Deepak Singh who comes in to try and go for his legs. Sonu comes in for a do or die raid. He almost gets a touch on Aslam Inamdar, who puts in a back hold. Sonu tries to crawl back but is turned around by the Pune defence. 

Parteek attacks Shadloui who goes for the anklehold but Parteek has wriggled out of it. 

Advanced tackle not working for Pune as Nitin slips out of Aslam’s grip. Fazel is happy with his raider. Shadloui bursts into the left corner of the Gujarat half and sends out Fazel. Shadloui wants two points. Referees have given just one. Fazel can do nothing but smile as he walks back. He wants Nitin’s point as well. REVIEW IS SUCCESSFUL. Left defensive chain gone for Gujarat. 

Gujarat has managed to slow the pace down. Fazel asks his raider to target the right corner. Nitin the raider has to come back empty handed. Shadloui comes in, legitimises the raid and stands by the midline. Meanwhile, Fazel and Sonu are involved in a deep long conversation. “No problem this is DOD, you’re a hero bro” Fazel tells him as he sends him in. But Sonu is brought down very close to the midline. Gujarat has conceded a point but the worrying sign will be Sonu limping back. Mohit now comes for a DOD raid. Sombir blocks Mohit and Fazel flies to dash him out. INCREDIBLE from the Iranian. 

Fazel Atrachali is now doing everything himself. He puts in a dash to dismiss the Pune raider to the bench. All three of Giants’ tackle points have come from the ‘Sultan’

Gujarat plays to the DOD raid and Sonu comes back immediately after legitimising the raid. Mohit comes in for the DOD raid. Fazel catches Mohit’s ankles. He brings him down but Mohit gets out of his grip. Deepak puts in the dash. But he seems to be out of the playing area. A point each. Now DOD raid for Gujarat and Parteek comes in and is runs into the defender. He has a habit of running parallelly to the midline. 

Sonu Jaglan finds Pankaj Mohite and Abinesh coming to him too high up. Two points that delights Fazel. Aslam goes back with an empty raid. Parteek Dahiya goes in now. He isn’t even looking at Shadloui in the left corner. Comes away unscathed now. 

The lack of a solid lead raider is costing the Giants when up against seven who seem to be able to do everything. Paltan have bettered the Giants in every department. Take a look at the stats at half time. Just the one point in defence for Giants which came from Fazel. Coach Ram Mehar Singh says that they have to manage an all out otherwise they can’t get a way back in the game. Don’t advanced tackle and don’t let them increase the lead. 

Pankaj gets a touch point from the right cover. Parteek puts in an empty raid. Shadloui comes in for the pursuit and goes right for Fazel but the senior Iranian stays away. Nabibakhsh caps an abysmal half of kabaddi with a bonus point for Gujarat. 13 point lead for the Paltan. 

Mohit Goyat goes back empty handed after teasing the defence on both sides. Gujarat looks a bit shaken. Aslam comes in for a DOD raid. He gets the bonus and manages to take out Balaji who tries to dash him out. Rakesh now comes in for a DOD raid for Gujarat. Shadloui is itching to tackle him. He does, holds him, and tries to stretch his way to the midline but the Iranian pulls him back without a sweat. 

Bonus for Aslam Inamdar from under the right corner. Parteek Dahiya has his back to the left flank and it allows Shadloui to go around him and push him down singlehandedly. No chance at all. 

Nabibakhsh goes in and is brought down after getting a bonus. Massive 11 point lead for the Paltan. ALL OUT INFLICTED BY PUNE!

Aslam Inamdar comes in with two men alone on the mat for Gujarat. Aslam jumps over Jitender to get a point. Nabibakhsh is the last man standing for Gujarat. Pune sniffing the all out now. 

Sonu Jaglan is subbed in. DOD raid time for him. Abinesh goes for him while Sonu targets Shadloui with the back kick. Gets them both. Mohit Goyat comes in to raid for Pune and goes low for a touch on the crouching Nabibakhsh while also taking out a defender coming in for a dash. There’s a discussion about how many points will go. Referees want to see if Mohit was within bounds. RAIDER IS SAFE. Nabibakhsh reviews and says they believe the raider is out. This confuses me. Why was this review taken? Wasted as Pune’s two points are upheld. Shadloui is amused. 

The teams get a short breather at the 10 minute mark and the game has been all about the Puneri Paltan so far. Can Gujarat find a way to turn the tide? 

Nabibakhsh has been given higher raiding chances today. He’s attacking the left corner while not allowing the right cover to creep up. Empty raid though. Mohit Goyat comes in for a DOD raid and his speed is incredible. He gets two points as he slips away from Fazel and Sombir runs into him. Seven point lead now for the men in orange. Fazel apologises to Sombir as they walk back to the bench. 

Pankaj Mohite gets a bonus point. Rakesh goes back empty handed right after. Pankaj Mohite is gifted a point by the right defender as they come to him too far ahead. They follow it up by bringing Rakesh down on the left flanks. Abinesh and Sanket dash him out. 

Parteek Dahiya runs towards the right corner but the left chain sneaks up behind him and Shadloui brings him down almost singlehandedly. 

FAZEL ATRACHALI THE DEFENDER IS ROARING. He takes a lot of time and Mohit is almost back in the half but Fazel holds on to his ankle and pulls him back. He wants to review for the bonus, potentially taken from under his nose but they eventually don’t. 

Fazel asks Parteek to handle Gaurav Khatri. He picks up two as he slips out of the chain. He has taken out Aslam Inamdar and Gaurav. 

Coach Ram Mehar Singh is not happy. Nabibakhsh comes in to raid. He manages to get a touch on Gaurav Khatri. Mohit Goyat meanwhile sorts out Balaji D. 

Mohit Goyat attacks Fazel’s side of the mat. But comes back empty-handed. Pankaj Mohite meanwhile has jumped over Deepak Singh to get another point. Gujarat is yet to get off the mark. 

Puneri Paltan skipper Aslam begins proceedings and he begins with a touch on Sombir. Fazel is now in HS Rakesh’s ears and Pune has brought him down in the right flank. Mohit Goyat is happy to push him out with a nifty dash. 

Gujarat Giants: Parteek Dahiya, Rakesh, Deepak Singh, Balaji D, Rakesh, Mohammad Nabibakhsh, Fazel Atrachali, Sombir

Puneri Paltan: Aslam Inamdar, Abinesh Nadarajan, Sanket Sawant, Pankaj Mohite, Mohit Goyat, Gaurav Khatri, Mohammadreza Chiyaneh

“I know Fazel’s weakness. Brother Fazel, rok sake toh rok lo,” says Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh. 

Bharat getting into the game a bit too late as his backhold on Ajinkya Pawar halts his point flow. Sagar meanwhile has been given a yellow card for coaching during the raid. He’s out for two minutes which means he will not return to the mat for this game. As there’s no time left in this game. Bharat is brought down in the left corner, with Sahil Gulia doing the work. With this Sahil Gulia also gets to 50 tackle points. This caps a massive win for the Tamil Thalaivas. A 17-point win for the Men in Yellow. 

Now it’s the defence that brings doen Sushil. Sagar with an anklehold yet again. HIS 50TH OF PKL Season 10. The first defender to reach that number. He gets a high five too. Ajinkya Pawar follows that up with a nifty raid as he pushes past the defence, almost taking the defender with him. Bharat takes our Narender who unsuccessfully puts in a tackle attempt. 

Akshit is brought down by Sahil and Himanshu. It has taken two to bring this man down, but he is. Massive lead for the Tamil Thalaivas now with under 3 minutes to go.

Ajinkya Pawar comes in. Babu in the right corner tries to go for the backhold but Pawar is too powerful to be held back. SUPER 10 FOR AJINKYA PAWAR. 

Akshit’s speed helps. Vishal in trying to dash him out, loses momentum midway and gives Akshit the point. Vikash Kandola is off the mat and Bharat is skulking away in the right cover. Bulls contend that Sahil is out of bounds. We see Sahil nearly stepping into the lobby. Can this be an additional point for the Bulls? 

Playing to the DOD raid not working for the Bulls. They are down to two men on the mat. Surjeet now comes in for the DOD raid. Why have they not subbed in a raider? I think Surjeet walked in thinking it was the second raid. He comes back with a bonus point. Narender comes in now. and Surjeet is constantly screaming to not give concede the ALL OUT. But that is exactly what happens. Saurabh Nandal’s anklehold fails and Surjeet runs into Narender despite trying hard to avoid the touch. ALL OUT INFLICTED.

Narender comes in for a DOD raid and will dubki away to safety. He escapes from under the left cover chain. Escapes so low. Incredible work. SUPER TEN FOR NARENDER.

Akshit almost gets out of the dubki but Sagar comes in at the right time to stop Akshit finding the midline. Ajinkya Pawar puts in an empty raid. Sushil comes in to raid now and attack the right corner straight up. He is brought down in the right flank by Sagar. 

“Let Akshit play and back him with defence. It’s just an eight point lead, and we have 10 minutes.” Scathing indictment of the state of the seniors in this team! 

Bonus for Akshit. Brilliant by Narender as he turns after being caught by the defence. It looked like he got two defenders at least, but he gets just one. 

Akshit gets the right corner again and gets a SUPER 10. Narender is alone once more on the mat and does not look too pleased. Can he manage an encore? The Bulls manage to bring him down. Narender gets the bonus but ALL OUT inflicted by the Bulls. 11 minutes left in this game. Is a comeback in the works? 

Narender is gifted the bonus. Akshit goes for the raid. He gets a fast touch on Vishal’s knee. Narender has a bonus and gets a touch on Aman. But the referees don’t think he has the bonus. His feet look far too close to the mat. He asks for a review for that trailing foot. Review is unsuccessful. Narender gets the one point and delays the all out. 

Vishal runs the clock down in raid for the Thalaivas. Sushil comes in for the raid and Bastami goes for him once more. Sahil comes in for reinforcement. Sushil manages to touch past the midline. Thalaivas down to two. 

Thalaivas have only three on the mat. The raider, Vishal, gets a bonus. Akshit comes in for the Bulls with the super tackle option on for the Thalaivas. The Men in Yellow don’t give him any chance to capitalise on anything. Vishal now comes in to raid and runs the clock down. Amirhossein Bastami is subbed in with the super tackle on. Akshit comes in for a DOD raid. And the substitution works as Bastami catches Akshit’s ankle. OH BUT WAIT. Referees say Amir is out as he was out of bounds. Thalaivas review. REVIEW IS SUCCESSFUL as Akshit got a touch on the Iranian before he went in for the tackle. TWO POINTS.

Ajinkya Pawar comes in for the DOD raid and tries to go for a slightly high dubki. It’s a five man defence that circles around him. He fails. Akshit comes for a DOD raid for the Bulls. For men on the mat for the Thalaivas and he has picked up a toe touch on Sagar. 

A few empty raids to begin the second half. Both teams working on the third raid it seems like. The game has slowed down. 

Sagar is 2 points away from a half century of tackle points this season. If he gets there, he’ll be the first to the mark this season

In raiding and defence, the Bulls have turned up as second best in this game. Akshit has been the lone bright star in the side’s effort tonight. Questions have to be asked of established raiders Bharat Hooda and Vikash Kandola who have been lacklustre not just today but for large parts of the season. The defence clicked in the dying minutes of the first half, another big faultline for the Bulls. How will coach Randhir tackle these woes? Can the Bulls make a comeback in the second half? Their problems have temporarily covered upo Thalaivas’ enduring struggles in the cover positions. 

Meanwhile Ajinkya Pawar is continuing what he does best. Running hand touch on Parteek. Meanwhile, the Thalaivas have made short work of Sushil, who is brought down on the right flanks. Dominant half from the Thalaivas as they lead at the halftime stage by 11 points. A big contribution from Ajinkya Pawar who has nine raid points and is sniffing a super 10. 

Himanshu bites the bait as Sushil gets another point. 

First tackle point for the Bulls as Saurabh Nandal gets Narender. Surjeet has gone out of bounds entirely. A point each. 

Ajinkya Pawar comes in for a DOD raid. He has burst into the left corner and taken a touch on Parteek. Unstoppable. Too quick across the mat. Sushil comes in for a raid and IT’S A SUPER RAID. THREE POINTS FOR SUSHIL. He gets his hand across from under two defenders. 

Raider out for Bulls after Akshit’s dubki fails. The left chain working for the Thalaivas. Bulls now have their best raider on the bench. Himanshu takes his time as he walks across the mat on raid. Not a single tackle point from the Bulls in the first 16 minutes of this game. Abysmal performance from the Bulls. Vikash Kandola comes in and is brought down in the right corner by Sagar. Not a point yet for the senior raider. 

Toe touch on Surjeet gives Narender a point. 

Ajinkya Pawar comes for a DOD raid. He gets a touch and runs around the defender. Created space to escape. Surjeet is the last man coming in for the raid and he is dashed out. We took the scenic route but ended at the same place. ALL OUT. Bulls couldn’t sub in a raider because there are none left. 

Ajinkya Pawar comes in for a DOD raid and gets a touch on Saurabh Nandal. Bulls down to three men. Sushil comes in to raid for the Bulls and is brought down by a thigh hold from Thalaivas skipper Sagar. Ajinkya Pawar comes in with two men left and gets a point by jumping out of a thigh hold attempt by Aman and over the defender. Bharat is the last man standing . He goes in for a touch, gets Mohit and a bonus to keep the Bulls alive without the all out. Not yet at least. Thalaivas defenders were smart to stay away. 

Empty raid from Ajinkya Pawar. Akshit comes in again and finally, on his eighth raid, he is brought down. 

Akshit is repaying the faith Randhir Sehrawat has shown in him by bringing him in the starting 7. All of the Bulls’ points have come from him. 

Empty raid from Ajinkya Pawar. Akshit comes in for the Bulls. He is balancing majority of raiding duties on his young shoulders. The covers are staying away, Akshit himself is playing it safe. First 10 minutes of the game done. Thalaivas have a slender three point lead. 

Bonus for Narender. Vikash Kandola comes in for a raid and Narender blocks him with a hold on his midriff. 

Has Ajinkya Pawar pulled off a SUPER RAID here? Randhir Sehrawat is not happy. TWO POINTS to the Thalaivas. Saurabh Nandal due to a failed anklehold and Surjeet for getting a touch while he made his way back. Akshit wants to return in kind and he gets TWO POINTS too as he puts in a clean dubki from under a potent chain. 

Narender is gifted a point by a very shoddy anklehold from Bharat in right cover. Akshit comes in for a do-or-die raid and he gets Sagar as he pushes out of the anklehold in the right corner. 

Ajinkya Pawar’s strength and flexibility is on show once again. Parteek comes in to stop him, he carries him to the midline with some acrobatics to boot. 

Akshit comes in and picks up a bonus and Mohit. The latter who just came in has to make his way back to the bench again. Narender gets a bonus point. Neck and neck as things stand. 

Empty raid for Narender. Akshit has picked another point, a touch on M Abishek. The defender denies the touch, but the referee sides with the Bulls. The covers for the Thalaivas are on the bench. Ajinkya Pawar comes in for a do-or-die raid and bursts into the left corner. He takes Aman with him to the midline. Pure power from Pawar. 

Empty raid from Ajinkya Pawar after his signature burst of speed is on display. Akshit comes in to raid and he has picked a point off Mohit with a running hand touch on the left cover. 

An empty raid from Vikash Kandola gets us going in Hyderabad. Narender comes in and after a fair amount of time hunting for a point, he ran into Aman, but turns to manage a point. The Thalaivas then bring down Bharat who is a bit too deep and stiff in the Thalaivas half. 

Bulls: Bharat, Surjeet Singh, Parteek, Vikash Kandola, Akshit, Saurabh Nandal, Aman

Thalaivas: Sagar Rathee, Ajinkya Pawar, Sahil Gulia, Narender Kandola, M Abishek, Himanshu Yadav, Mohit

In PKL history, Gujarat Giants and Puneri Paltan have played each other 13 times.

Gujarat Giants lead the head-to-head record, winning 8 times while Puneri Paltan have returned with a victory on 4 occasions. One match between these teams ended in a tie.

The last Gujarat Giants and Puneri Paltan match saw the latter come out on top with a 37-17 victory earlier in Season 10.

With 8 wins and 5 losses, Gujarat Giants are fourth on the PKL 10 points table with 44 points.

On the other hand, Puneri Paltan are second after winning 10 matches and losing 2. They have a total of 52 points.

Gujarat Giants head into this fixture on the back of a win against Dabang Delhi K.C. on January 17. They won the match 31-26 and it was their eighth win in Pro Kabaddi League Season 10.

Puneri Paltan, on the other hand, lost their last match against Jaipur Pink Panthers by a 34-36 scoreline on January 13.

Iranian powerhouses Fazel Atrachali and Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh might be at different ends of an athlete’s sporting journey but are powerful assurances for the present and future of kabaddi. Read about their unspoken rivalry and what it means for Iranian kabaddi and the PKL here. 

PKL 10: Fazel Atrachali and Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh - the tale of the Sultan and his successor

Iranian powerhouses Fazel Atrachali and Mohammadreza Shadloui Chiyaneh might be at different ends of an athlete’s sporting journey but are powerful assurances for the present and future of kabaddi.

In PKL history, Bengaluru Bulls and Tamil Thalaivas have played each other 13 times.

With 11 wins against Tamil Thalaivas, Bengaluru Bulls are ahead in the head-to-head record between these teams. Tamil Thalaivas have won 2 times.

The previous contest between Bengaluru Bulls and Tamil Thalaivas ended in favour of the former. They won 38-37 earlier in Season 10.

After 14 matches, Bengaluru Bulls are 9th on the PKL Season 10 points table. They have won 6 times and lost 8 in 14 matches, amassing 37 points so far.

Tamil Thalaivas, meanwhile, have 25 points and are 10th on the points table. They have won 4 and lost 9 times.

Bengaluru Bulls head into this encounter on the back of a win against Telugu Titans on January 19. They won the match 42-26 and it was their sixth win in Pro Kabaddi League Season 10.

Tamil Thalaivas also won their last match after beating Patna Pirates 41-25 on January 16.

You can catch live coverage of the tenth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League on the Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar app. Sunday’s fixtures will see Bengaluru Bulls take on Tamil Thalaivas in the first game while Gujarat Giants take on Puneri Paltan in the second game.