Welcome to Sportstar's coverage of the Pro Kabaddi League. This is Nihit Sachdeva and I will be taking you through today's PKL 8 match between Gujarat Giants and Jaipur Pink Panthers.
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Summary: Deepak Hooda was the star for the inaugural champion Jaipur Pink Panthers as it beat Gujarat Giants 36-31. Deepak Hooda scored a Super 10 (11 points) in a win that will help Jaipur in its race for a Playoff spot and top-six finish. He was supported well by the Panthers defence. Sandeep Dhull scored four points while Deepak Singh and Vishal chipped in with three points each. Gujarat Giants had levelled the scores in the dying stages of the second half, but Jaipur’s experience helped it navigate carefully in a tense situation.
FULL-TIME: Jaipur Pink Panthers beats Gujarat Giants 36-31.
31-36: SUPER 10 FOR DEEPAK NIWAS HOODA!! It was a do-or-die raid for Jaipur but since it was definitely the final raid of the match, the raider could have settled for the self-out. However, he waited and eventually two Giants defenders came in for the tackle. Deepak anyway made it to the mid-line.
31-34: Hadi wins the touch point as Sandeep Dhull comes for the solo tackle. However, Sandeep wastes a few more seconds despite Hadi getting annoyed.
30-34: Not this time, Pardeep. He almost found his way to the mid-line but the tackle by Sandeep and the assist by Amit stops the beast.
30-33: Pardeep Kumar puts in a quick raid, gets the bonus and A TOUCH POINT OFF DEEPAK SINGH.
28-33: Deepak Hooda in for the do-or-raid tries a back kick on Hadi on the right corner, misses it but then Parvesh goes for an unnecessary ankle hold providing an easy touch point. Giants are down to two with less than two minutes left.
28-32: Rakesh Narwal leaves coach Manpreet Singh frustrated with another unsuccessful raid. The game is slowly slipping away from them.
28-31: Well done, Arjun. He targets Girish on the left corner who has had a bad day and Arjun makes it even worse.
28-30: Ajay Kumar comes in for the raid and becomes frozen near the left corner. Deepak Singh comes with the block and it is a tackle point for Jaipur.
Final strategic time out. Five minutes left. We are in for a thriller, folks!
28-29: Arjun Deshwal comes in for the next raid and who does he get a touch on? It's the Giants skipper Sunil Kumar.
28-28: Error from left cover Vishal and Ajay easily jumps back to the mid-line with a touch point.
27-28: Rakesh Narwal comes in for the raid with both teams back to full strength. Well, it doesn't stay like that for long as Rakesh gets tackled.
27-27: ALL OUT!!!! Sub Brijendra puts in the raid, takes the bonus but that's all he manages. Gujarat restores parity.
24-26: Pardeep Kumar comes in for the raid, tries a touch on Sahul on the left, misses it but Deepak Singh's unsuccessful dash gives him the touch point.
23-26: Brijendra picks up a bonus for Jaipur.
23-25: Pardeep comes in for the raid, tries a touch on Sandeep but misses it. However, he eventually gets one as Vishal comes with the unsuccessful dash. Jaipur down to two.
First strategic time out. Ten minutes to go. Jaipur leads by three points but the momentum is well and truly with Gujarat.
22-25: Do-or-die raid for Jaipur, Amit Nagar comes in and tries to take a touch off Hadi on the right corner but the Iranian puts in a perfect ankle hold to take the raider down.
21-25: Sandeep Dhull goes solo with the back hold on Pardeep from the left corner but the effort proves useless. Giants are slowly coming back into the match.
20-25: SUPER TACKLE!!! Deepak Hooda went in with three Giants players on the mat but it was the raider Rakesh Narwal who initiated the tackle with the thigh hold before Hadi and Parvesh came for the assist.
18-25: Rakesh Narwal picks up a bonus.
17-25: SUPER TACKLE!!! Only Hadi and Parvesh on the mat but they somehow manage to push Arjun off the mat after he had taken a touch off Hadi. Pink Panthers have used their review saying that Arjun had some part of his body on the line when he got his right foot across the mid-line. Review unsuccessful.
15-25: Brilliant dash from Deepak Singh to push Rakesh S off the mat.
15-24: Arjun Deshwal puts in the next raid and claims a running hand touch on Sunil Kumar on the right corner as he enters the lobbies and returns to his side of the mat. However, Giants have used their review saying it should be one point each as Arjun didn't get a touch on Sunil who had entered the lobbies after the attempt but it is an unsuccessful one.
15-23: Sub Rakesh S comes in for the raid and gets a touch point as Sandeep's back hold proves insufficient.
14-23: Do-or-die raid for Deepak Hooda, four Giants players on the mat and he targets Girish with a running hand touch.
Sahul Kumar has been subbed off for Brijendra. Injury?
14-22: So close!! Pardeep put in the dubki but the entire Jaipur defence mobbed him and he fell a few centimetres short of reaching the mid-line.
14-21: Rakesh Narwal goes for the opening raid of the second half and Sandeep Dhull takes him down with a brutal thigh hold.
HALF-TIME: Gujarat Giants 14-20 Jaipur Pink Panthers
14-20: Tight ankle hold by Sandeep Dhull on the left corner and he takes down Ajay in the last raid of the first half.
14-19: Back to seven-all. Ajay Kumar goes in for the raid and comes back with a touch point.
13-19: ALL OUT!!!! Deepak Hooda puts in the raid and Parvesh simply surrenders in order to save time.
13-16: Ajay Kumar is the next raider. He gets the bonus but nothing more than that before being taken down. Giants down to one player on the mat now.
12-15: Arjun gets his man this time. Girish commits and gives an easy touch point. Giants down to two.
12-14: Ajay goes in for the raid and since he is a little too deep, it makes him tough for him to go part Deepak Singh's block in his way.
12-13: SUPER TACKLE!!!! Brilliant team work by Girish and Parvesh to stop Arjun. Parvesh missed the ankle hold but it gave Girish time to come for the block from the back.
10-13: Rakesh tries to take the bonus, does not get it and then gets blocked by Vishal.
10-12: Quality toe touch by Rakesh Narwal off Sahul.
9-12: Terrific eight-second raid from Deepak Hooda and he gets rid of Sunil Kumar on the right corner.
9-11: Rakesh picks up a bonus.
8-11: Quick running hand touch off Ankit by Deepak Hooda. Clinical.
8-10: The Jaipur defence says enough is enough as it takes down Pardeep Kumar, who had a Super 10 for Giants in their last game.
8-9: Arjun picks up a bonus.
8-8: Ajay restores parity with a multi-point raid. Deepak Singh first came in for the block with Vishal then coming in for the ankle hold. However, the raider reached the mid-line to clinch two touch points.
6-8: Arjun goes in for the raid, sees his options and then stretches to get a touch off Girish on the right corner.
6-7: Deepak Hooda in for the do-or-die raid and gets the error from Parvesh. The Giants defender went for a block which was never there.
6-6: Smart raid from Ajay as he lures Amit into the block but then moves himself in such a way that he reaches the mid-line pretty easily.
5-6: Well done, Ajay. The raider first got a bonus and then successfully negotiated Deepak Singh's dash to reach safety.
3-6: The Jaipur defence flattens Pardeep Kumar. Another successful tackle.
3-5: Arjun goes in for the raid with just four Giants players on the mat but they prove enough to take him down. The chain of Sunil and Ankit doing the job.
2-5: Good ankle hold by Sahul on Rakesh Narwal to begin the tackle. He gets the block from his teammates on time.
2-4: Do-or-die raid for Arjun, Girish goes for the ankle hold but no one else comes for the support and rightly so.
2-3: Brilliant sliding toe touch by Rakesh Narwal sends Deepak Hooda to the bench.
1-3: This time the Jaipur defence does well as Amit initiates the tackle on Ajay with the support coming in on time to push him off the mat.
1-2: Sahul Kumar goes for the block on Ajay but the raider overpowers the Jaipur defender to take him with him over the mid-line.
0-2: Deepak Niwas Hooda puts in the opening raid and goes through the chain of Deepak Singh and Girish Ernak to pick two touch points.
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TOSS - Gujarat Giants wins the toss and selects right side of court. Jaipur Pink Panthers to raid first.
7:25pm: LINE-UPS!!!
Gujarat Giants: Sunil Kumar, Pardeep Kumar, Rakesh Narwal, Parvesh Bhainswal, Girish Ernak, Ajay Kumar, Ankit
Jaipur Pink Panthers: Sandeep Dhull, Arjun Deshwal, Deepak Niwas Hooda, Amit Nagar, Vishal Lather, Sahul Kumar, Deepak Singh
7:20pm: Head-to-head stats: Matches played - 9, Matches won by Gujarat Giants - 6, Matches won by Jaipur Pink Panthers - 2, Tied matches - 1, Last meeting - Jaipur Pink Panthers won 34-27
7:10pm: Deepak Hooda and co. come into this game on the back of a disappointing 35-28 loss against the Haryana Steelers. The game was close until the final two minutes, but a spectacular surge from the Steelers, led by Vikash Kandola, saw Haryana register a crucial win. Hooda led the team in scoring for the second game running and has tallied 20 points in the Pink Panthers’ last two outings. But Arjun Deshwal, who has had a spectacular season, has managed only 12 points in Jaipur’s previous two games. The Pink Panthers need both Hooda and Deshwal in top form in their remaining six matches to secure a spot in the playoffs.
7pm: Gujarat Giants registered a hard-fought 40-36 win over the Bengaluru Bulls yesterday to cut the gap to fifth-placed U Mumba to five points. Pardeep Kumar was the star of the show for the Giants, as the raider finished with a game-high 14 points to lead his side to victory. Parvesh Bhainswal and Sunil Kumar combined to score nine of the Giants’ 11 tackle points. Three wins in last four games has given the Giants renewed hope of securing a playoff berth. However, it will need to be at its best to beat a dangerous Jaipur Pink Panthers side.
6:50pm: The 2022 edition of the Sportstar Aces Awards is back and we are celebrating the marvellous year for Indian Sports that 2021 was. From Neeraj Chopra and the other Olympic and Paralympic medallists to the Indian cricket team, we have a bunch of nominees who need your vote to win! Click here to VOTE!
6 :40pm: In case if you're new to this sport, here's a simple explainer that covers all the rules of the game and the various terms such as 'All Out', 'Do-or-die' and 'Super Tackle'-
6:30pm: Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of the first PKL 8 match of the day between Gujarat Giants and Jaipur Pink Panthers. But before that, here's a recap of what happened last night in the PKL over the last fortnight-
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