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 Puneri Paltan.
That brings us to the end of our Pro Kabaddi League coverage for the day. We will be back tomorrow. See you then!
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You can also check out our Kings of Kabaddi series from PKL 7 - a happier time pre-COVID when we got to physically sit down with some of the biggest names in the league and hear their stories. You can check out all episodes here:
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Summary: Final match of the evening between Gujarat Giants and Puneri Paltan went right down to the last raid where a mistake from Pune raider Aslam Inamdar allowed Giants' Ajay Kumar to get a touch point which helped his side tie the game at 31-31. Both teams got three points each which keep Giants at sixth and Paltan at seventh on the points table.
31-31: Final raid of the match and Ajay Kumar goes in. The bonus is active but Puneri is understandably playing a high line. Ajay Kumar waits and waits before someone comes ahead of the baulk like for the double ankle hold. Who is it? It is Aslam Inamdar of all people. Ajay easily backtracks to the mid-line and it is a tie.
30-31: Ajay Kumar goes in and comes back within nine seconds thinking he had the bonus. The officials did not give it. The replay showed Ajay Kumar might have had a case but unfortunately, no review left for Giants.
30-31: Empty raid from Mohit. Fifty seconds.
Eighty one seconds on the clock. One point game.
30-31: Amazing ankle hold by Vishal and he brings down Rakesh.
30-30: Aslam Inamdar goes in with all seven Giants players on the mat. Whoa!! Hadi loses his balance on the right corner and it is an easy touch point for Aslam.
30-29: Excellent raid with two minutes to go from Rakesh who first tempted Mohit Goyat for the ankle hold and then went past Abinesh's dash to reach the mid-line. Giants have used the review asking for a bonus but the decision goes against them.
28-29: Error from Girish who comes well ahead of the baulk line to block Aslam and fails.
28-28: Aslam Inamdar goes in for the raid and comes back quickly claiming the bonus which he gets. However, Giants coach Manpreet Singh shouts at his players to ask for a review which they do and it is a successful one. No bonus.
28-28: Do-or-die raid for Giants, Rakesh goes in and gets the benefit of an uncharacteristic error from Vishal who went for the back hold.
27-28: Do-or-die raid for Paltan, Mohit Goyat takes the charge and delivers with a diving hand touch on Giants' skipper Sunil Kumar to complete his Super 10.
Final strategic time out. Five minutes to go and nothing to separate the two teams.
27-27: Ajay Kumar with a big raid. He does not disappoint as he targets Abinesh and gets a touch point too.
26-27: Oh, Aslam!! The speed proves to be his downfall as he fails to get a running hand touch on left corner and then steps into the lobbies due to the momentum.
25-27: ALL OUT!!!! Mahendra Rajput is allowed to pick up the bonus but then made to wait for a touch point before being mobbed by the Paltan.
24-24: Parity restored. Giants down to one as Mohit gets a touch point on Parvesh.
24-23: Finally, a strong dash from Abinesh and he sends Rakesh flying off the mat.
24-22: Crucial raid from Mohit Goyat. Four Giants players on the mat, he takes his time and then gets a running hand touch on Pardeep Kumar.
First strategic time out. Ten minutes to go.
24-21: Unnecessary back hold attempted by Aslam and Pardeep Kumar gladly accept the touch point.
23-21: Do-or-die raid for Paltan, Mohit goes in and gets the touch point. Hadi went for the ankle hold but did not get the grip.
23-20: Do-or-die raid for Giants, Ajay Kumar comes in and is brought down quite easily by Sombir.
23-19: Aslam goes in for the do-or-die raid, gets away from Ajay Kumar's ankle hold, twists and turns in order to reach the mid-line but Girish Ernak, just by sheer force, drags him back. However, Puneri Paltan successfully reviews asking for jersey pulling from Girish.
23-18: Ajay Kumar waits to pick up a bonus on the left, does not get the opportunity but he does get a touch point courtesy of a strange tackle attempted by Sanket.
22-18: Another tackle point for Pune as Sombir, Abinesh and Aslam combine to drag back Rakesh.
22-17: Double thigh hold by Parvesh Bhainswal and Nitin Tomar was not going to get out of that.
21-17: Pardeep Kumar has been subbed in by Giants but his first raid proves to be an unsuccessful one as Sombir comes up with a good block to stop him.
HALF-TIME: Gujarat Giants 21-16 Puneri Paltan
21-16: Final raid of the first half and Ajay Kumar simply runs the clock down.
21-16: Brutal block by Sunil Kumar and he has basically lifted Mohit in the air. Scenes!
20-16: Rakesh is off after he goes too deep and provides Vishal the chance to go for the thigh hold.
20-15: Aslam picks up a bonus.
20-14: Multi-point raid for Rakesh who first escaped Vishal's ankle hold and then somehow made it to mid-line despite the block from another Pune player.
18-14: Mohit Goyat, you genius. The sheer pace of the raider forced Parvesh to go for a half-ankle hold.
18-13: Not a good night for Abinesh. Rakesh picked the bonus and then safely negotiated Abinesh's dash to win the touch point.
16-13: A sublime running hand touch by Aslam and he sends Girish Ernak off the mat.
16-12: Mahendra Rajput picks up the bonus but Sanket Sawant then pushes him off the mat with a superb dash.
15-11: Strong back hold by Giants skipper Sunil Kumar to stop Aslam who looked set to escape to his side of the mat.
14-11: A clutch ankle hold by Sanket Sawant and Ajay Kumar has been finally stopped.
13-10: A rare failed tackle from Hadi and Nitin Tomar gets a touch point.
13-9: Another failed dash from Abinesh and Ajay Kumar smartly makes it to mid-line once again.
12-9: Girish initiates the block and gets the assist in time to take down Aslam who complained of jersey pulling.
11-9: Strong block by Sanket Sawant and he stops Mahendra Rajput successfully.
11-8: ALL OUT!!!! This time Gujarat flattens Mohit on the mat after he had picked up the bonus.
8-7: Not for too long. Aslam goes for the tackle on Rakesh and the raider smartly jumps over him to make it to mid-line.
7-7: Mohit Goyat saves the All Out as he first picks up a bonus and then gets the benefit of an advanced tackle from Girish.
7-5: Paltan down to one as Sombir's attempted ankle hold on Rakesh fails.
6-5: Mohit Goyat picks up a bonus.
6-4: Back kick by Rakesh S and Nitin Tomar walks back to the bench.
5-4: SUPER RAID!!!! Brilliant review by Gujarat Giants. Ajay Kumar went in for the raid, escaped Vishal's ankle hold and then somehow managed to keep his right foot in the lobbies despite Abinesh's and Sanket's dash and got his fingertips across the mid-line. The decision had initially gone in Pune's favour.
2-4: Excellent dash from Hadi Oshtorak to push Aslam off the mat.
1-4: Lightning quick raid from Aslam and he manages to get a running hand touch on Parvesh on the left corner.
1-3: Mahendra Rajput picks up a bonus.
0-3: Great start for Pune as Sombir and Aslam bring Rakesh down.
0-2: Mohit Goyat lures Girish Ernak into the ankle hold and then quickly makes it to mid-line.
0-1: Aslam Inamdar puts in the first raid of the match and returns with a bonus.
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TOSS - Gujarat Giants wins the toss and selects right side of the court. Puneri Paltan to raid first.
LINE-UPS!!!!
Gujarat Giants: Ajay Kumar, Sunil Kumar (c), Parvesh Bhainswal, Rakesh HS, Mahendra Rajput, Hadi Oshtorak, Girish Ernak
Puneri Paltan: Aslam Inamdar, Abinesh Nadarajan, Sanket Sawant, Mohit Goyat, Nitin Tomar, Sombir, Vishal Bharadwaj
Update from second match: Pardeep Narwal's Super 10 (14 raid points) has powered UP Yoddha to a massive 44-28 win over Dabang Delhi which takes UP to third on the points table.
9:36pm: The Gujarat Giants has won six and lost three of its nine matches against the Puneri Paltan. Pune won the first meeting between two sides this season by a scoreline of 33-26.
9:32pm: In the second match of the evening, UP Yoddha leads Daband Delhi 37-24 with five minutes remaining. Follow our live coverage here:
9:30pm: The Gujarat Giants climbed into the top six on the points table with its win over U.P. Yoddha last night. The Giants defence had a spectacular night, as the picked up 17 tackle points. Gujarat’s raiding unit, which is averaging the fewest points per game this season, had a good first half, but crumbled in the second against U.P. Coach Manpreet Singh will expect a better performance from his raiders on Monday.
Barring its 17-point trouncing at the hands of the Patna Pirates, the Puneri Paltan has been in smashing form of late. It has won six out of its last seven games and has won by an average margin of 10.5 points. Despite its remarkable run of results, it is eighth on the points table, but could climb into the top six with a win on Monday. The Paltan have made a mighty comeback and sit on the brink of a playoff spot. But there’s still work to be done in their last four league stage matches.
9:20pm: 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!
9:10pm: Season 2 of our special series Kings Of Kabaddi is back. Our first episode features the imperious all-rounder Aslam Inamdar from the Puneri Paltan side. Check out the promo here
9 :05pm: 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'-
9 pm: Hello folks and welcome to our PKL coverage for the day! The final game of the evening will see sixth-placed Gujarat Giants take on eighth-placed Puneri Paltan. Before we get to that, here's a recap of what went down in the PKL over the last three days -
February 13:
February 12:
February 11:
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