Welcome to Sportstar's coverage of the Pro Kabaddi League. This is Shyam Vasudevan and I will be taking you through today's PKL 8 match between Gujarat Giants and Haryana Steelers.
A roller-coaster of a game ends in Haryana Steelers' favour as the side snatches a last-gasp 38-36 win over Gujarat Giants. Haryana Steelers had a massive 12-point lead at the interval but squandered it as Gujarat Giants made a stirring comeback. Rakesh was the superstar of the evening as he scored 19 points for Gujarat Giants. However, it was a Super Raid from Meetu at the very end that levelled the scored and Vikash stepped in to take Haryana Steelers home.
We've got our second game of the evening as Puneri Paltan takes on Bengalru Bulls. Follow that game live here -
Meanwhile, 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:
36-38 Vikash wins it for the Haryana Steelers as he wriggles out of Ravinder Pahal's ankle hold.
35-37 Absolutely sensational from Vikash. He gets a touch on Mahender and Haryana Steelers has a two-point lead.
35-36 Haryana Steelers take the lead at the death. Rakesh has been tackled by Mohit and the side has the lead with less than 30 seconds to go.
35-35 Oh my word, what a twist in the tale! Meetu comes up with a monstrous Super Raid and the scores are tied with a minute to go.
35-32 Rakesh bags his 18th point of the game as he lands a kick on Surender's face.
34-32 Meetu stars with a super toe touch now.
34-31 Vikash has been bundled out and Gujarat Giants is the firmly in the drivers seat.
33-31 ALL OUT FOR GUJARAT GIANTS! What an unbelievable comeback! The Giants, out of nowhere, is now in the lead!
29-30 Rakesh, Rakesh, Rakesh - what a game he's having. He gets out of Esmaeil's tackle and it's a one-point game.
28-30 Meetu heads in for the do-or-die raid and has no way out! Sumit grabs onto his ankle and that's that.
27-30 GAME ON! Rakesh simply runs past Vikash's poorly-timed tackle and reduced the deficit to three points. Haryana Steelers are down to three men and the skipper is on the bench!
25-30 Wow, Meetu pulls off a stunner! He slips out of a combined tackle from Ravinder Pahal and Sunil and Gujarat Giants will now be without its two star defenders.
Gujarat Giants has scored 13 points in the last 10 minutes!
25-28 There's no stopping Rakesh today! He gets a running hand touch on Mohit and that takes his evening's tally to 14!
I'm very curious as to what coach Manpreet Singh told his team to spark such a comeback.
23-28 It's a five-point game now and this could honestly go either way! An excellent comeback from Gujarat Giants in the second half.
22-27 SUPER 10! Rakesh brings up his Super 10 with a bonus and a touch point. Rakesh, Gujarat Giants' secondary raider, has done really well today with the main raider Rakesh Narwal looking a tad off colour.
20-27 ALL OUT FOR GUJARAT GIANTS! The defence has well ans truly stepped up and it's Raviner Pahal who makes a fine dash to wrestle Rohit to the mat.
16-26 HOW ABOUT THAT FROM ESMAEIL! The Iranian comes off the bench and gets rid of Ravinder and Sunil! Excellent work from him.
16-24 Rakesh Narwal delivers when it matters the most as he storms past Surender's half-hearted tackle.
15-24 Ravinder Pahal finally comes good and traps Meetu with a double thigh hold. Haryana Steelers reduced to two men now.
14-24 SUPER TACKLE! Rakesh can't slip away this time and is flattened to the mat by Esmaeil.
14-22 Looks like Manpreet Singh's half-time talk is working wonders! Parvesh reacts well and grapples Vikash with a strong ankle hold.
13-22 Gujarat Giants has picked up three points in as many raids and they've all come from Rakesh.
11-22 Rakesh picks up a point in the first raid of the second half. Good start for Gujarat Giants.
HALF-TIME! It's been one-way traffic here as the Haryana Steelers have absolutely bossed this opening half! The defence has done remarkably well to offer the Gujarat Giants raiders no room whatsoever. The Haryana Steelers raiders in Vikash and Meetu have also impressed, while the Gujarat Giants are yet to find a rhythm.
10-22 That's a raid point for Gujarat Giants after what seems like an eternity! Rakesh slips out of Surender's ankle hold.
Vikash has scored six points in his last five raids.
7-22 Vikash is single-handedly taking apart the Gujarat Giants! He lands an outstanding diving touch his time around.
6-21 Vikash leads from the front! He twists and turns and gets the better of Sunil and also bags a bonus. He's now got eight points.
6-19 Rathan, who came off the bench not so long ago, lacks the killer instinct and is tackled by Rohit Gulia.
6-18 ALL OUT FOR HARYANA STEELERS AGAIN! Rathan is the last man and he goes on a raid but he's no match for the Haryana Steelers defenders. Haryana Steelers now sitting on a HUGE lead!
5-15 Vikash calmly gets rid of Harmanjit and Gujarat Giants are staring at another All Out, they're down to one man!
5-14 Meetu, you beauty! He evades Ravinder's tackle by jumping over him and then squeezes past Rakesh to give his side a massive nine-point lead.
5-12 Jaideep has been Haryana Steelers' best defender this year and he shows us why. He rounds up Rakesh Narwal and flattens him with a strong tackle.
5-11 That's a move straight out of WWE! Surender waits for the right moment and then charges at Ajay and executes a perfect double thigh hold.
5-9 ALL OUT! Rakesh Narwal has to get in a touch point to revive a player but he gets taken out by Jaideep and it's an All Out! Haryana Steelers has taken an early lead here.
4-6 Vikash slips out of Parvesh's tackle and Gujarat Giants, down to one man, are staring at an All Out!
3-5 Vikash Kandola strikes big! It's a do-or-die raid and he returns ins style with two points. Gujarat Giants are down to two men.
3-3 Incredible tackle from Mohit! He grabs Rakesh by the back and that brings the scores back on level terms.
3-2 That's fantastic work from young Meetu! Gujarat Giants' skipper Sunil over-commits and Meetu snatches a touch point.
2-1 First point on the board for Haryana Steelers and it comes from the captain Vikash!
2-0 Rakesh, the Gujarat Giants all-rounder, gets a touch on Surender Nada and has his first point of the game.
1-0 Ravinder Pahal, commonly known as the Hawk, strikes right away as he traps Rohit Gulia with a superb ankle hold.
Gujarat Giants won the toss and chose court, Haryana Steelers will raid first.
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7:30pm: LINE UPS!
Gujarat Giants: Rakesh Narwal, Sunil Kumar, Parvesh Bhainswal, Ajay Kumar, Rakesh, Ravinder Pahal, Sumit
Haryana Steelers: Vikash Kandola, Ravi Kumar, Jaideep, Meetu, Rohit Gulia, Mohit, Surender Nada
7:20pm: Today will be a contest of defences and a contest between two former players-turned-coaches in Manpreet and Rakesh. Who do you think will have the last laugh?
Here's how they're placed on the table -
7:15pm: Gujarat Giants coach Manpreet Singh feels Rakesh Narwal is a proper "all-round raider." In a chat with us after the side's last game, Manpreet said, "Rakesh has all the qualities and skills needed to be the best raider. He is a very mature raider and he is god-gifted. He has great height and it's a huge advantage for him. I have big hopes from him and I will be very happy when he scored around 20 points in a game."
7:10pm: Vikash Kandola, Haryana Steelers' captain, was the side's best raider last season and picked up 190 points. In a chat with, dated back to the good old pre-covid times, he opened up about his journey with the team, his goals and his love for pani puri -
7:05pm: If you're new to the PKL caravan and are wondering what super raids, super tackles, bonus points, do or die raids are, we have you covered.
7pm: Haryana Steelers has a capable defensive duo in Surender Nada and Jaideep, who have looked in fine form. However, the raiding trio of Vikash Khandola, Rohit Gulia and Meetu Mahender hasn't been as effective as coach Rakesh Kumar would like it to be.
6:55pm: Gujarat Giants, known for its defensive prowess, will need to step up today. Gujarat Giants’ coach Manpreet Singh is widely known for its defence-first strategy and brought in the likes of Girish Ernak and Ravinder Pahal at the auctions to add strength to an already strong team featuring Parvesh Bhainswal and Sumit. But in the process, Gujarat Giants failed to add some much-needed firepower to its raiding unit, especially since ace raider Sachin Tanwar's departure. Rakesh Narwal has been the side's best performer in PKL 8 thus far.
6:50pm: Today's first game will see two sides in desperate need of a win, Gujarat Giants and Haryana Steelers, lock horns. Both teams have managed only one victory each so far. Gujarat Giants has drawn its last two games and is on a three-match winless run, while the Haryana Steelers will also be looking to bounce back from the heavy defeat to Bengaluru Bulls.
6:45pm: Hey guys! Good evening and welcome to another exciting day of kabaddi. We had three blockbuster games yesterday and much to everyone's surprise, all three ended tied! UP Yoddha made a strong comback to earn a draw with U Mumba in the first game, while a strange decision from Rohit Kumar and a superb tackle from Pawan Kumar Sehrawat saw Bengaluru Bulls and Telugu Titans share the spoils soon after. Dabang Delhi had a healthy lead but let it slip in the end as Tamil Thalaivas clawed back to pick up some much-needed points.
Before we introduce you to the fixtures of the day, here's a look at the results from the last three days -
January 1:
December 31:
December 30:
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