Welcome to Sportstar's live coverage of the Pro Kabaddi League. This is Nihit Sachdeva and I will be taking you through today's PKL 8 match between Telugu Titans and Gujarat Giants.
Manpreet Singh's Gujarat Giants absolutely demolished the Telugu Titans tonight. Rakesh S had a memorable game in which he amassed 16 points including two Super Raids. Surinder Singh and company simply looked out of sync and without a plan against the pumped up Giants' all-rounder. With this win, Gujarat Giants have made quite a jump on the points table. Although they have 20 points from eight games, same as U.P. Yoddha and Haryana Steelers, but the Sunil Kumar-led team is at seventh, ahead of the other two based on a much superior score difference. As far as the Telugu Titans are concerned, they remain winless and at the bottom of the table with 10 points from eight games.
22-40: Rathan K goes in for the final and inconsequential raid of the match and is taken down by Shihas. Gujarat Giants beat Telugu Titans by 40-22!!!
21-39: A handshake from the sole Titans player on the mat. It is another ALL OUT inflicted upon the Telugu Titans.
21-36: Adarsh T tries desperately to return to his side of the mat but Hadi's thigh hold is too good for him.
21-34: Muhammed Shihas gets a swift touch point via a back kick on the left corner in the Gujarat Giants half.
20-34: Unsuccessful raid from Titans' sub Galla Raju. This is quickly going out of their reach.
20-32: Do-or-die raid for Rakesh S. Titans defense was quite compact at one point but then lost their patience as Akash giftes Rakesh a touch point.
Manpreet Singh to his defenders about Titans' upcoming raids: Play as if every raid is worth one lakh points.
20-31: SUPER TACKLE! Ankit Beniwal got a touch but before he could return to his side of the mat, Parvesh's excellent dash meant Ankit was off the mat right before getting his hand across the line.
20-29: Rajnish gets another touch point as the Iranian all-rounder Hadi tried to push him off the mat but got no support.
19-29: Rathan K gets a taste of his own medicine as it was his turn for an unsuccessful do-or-die raid.
18-29: Adarsh T in for another do-or-die raid but Rathan K, raider, executes a brilliant ankle hold.
18-26: SUPER TACKLE! Not this time, Rajnish. Sunil Kumar and his fellow defender push Rajnish flat on his face.
18-24: SUPER 10 FOR RAJNISH! Rajnish gets an easy touch point off Sumit. What a night he is having!
17-24: Second tackle point for Telugu Titans as they successfully push Mahendra Rajput off the mat. Actually, it is Ranjish, a raider, who gets the tackle point.
16-23: Another do-or-die raid taken by Adarsh T and he doesn't disappoint. An excellent stretched running toe touch on Parvesh.
15-23: Telugu Titans have managed to stop Rakesh S from getting his finger tips across the line by the barest of margins. Gujarat Giants ask for a review but the decision goes against them.
14-22: Wow! Looks like the Gujarat Giants defense took Manpreet Singh's word to its heart as everyone just went all in on Rajnish, not allowing him to escape with a touch point.
14-20: Adarsh T goes in for the do-or-die raid and who does he get a toe touch on? It's Rakesh Narwal!
Manpreet Singh, Gujarat Giants coach, told Ankit and Sumit during half-time that if Rajnish manages to get a touch point, he'll walk around without a moustache. Well, that's one way to motivate your team.
The Telugu Titans are not out of this contest yet as the deficit is just seven points but their defense needs to massively improve (just one tackle point so far) and stop Rakesh S who has already scored 12 points. Stay tuned for second half, folks!
HALF-TIME: Telugu Titans 13-20 Gujarat Giants
13-20: An empty raid from Rakesh Gowda ends the first half.
13-20: Titans are hanging on here. Rajnish picks two raid points as the Gujarat defense fails to completely push him off the mat.
11-20: SUPER RAID! Another dubki and another super raid for Rakesh S as he goes under the chain of Surinder and two others. SUPER 10 for Rakesh S.
11-17: Rajnish picks up another bonus.
9-16: Do-ro-die raid. Mahendra Rajput goes in but does not come back as substitute Akash pulled him back. C Arun has been issued a green card for jersey pulling. FIRST TACKLE POINT OF THE MATCH FOR TELUGU TITANS!
8-15: ALL OUT! It was Telugu Titans only remaining player on the mat - Adarsh T, who went in for the do-or-die raid, got a bonus but failed to return to his side of the mat as Parvesh took him down.
7-12: It was a do-or-die raid for Rakesh S. He first got a touch point through a back kick on Shihas and then another when Ruturaj Koravi failed to push him off the mat.
7-10: Now then. Finally a successful back hold from Ankit from the left corner on Rakesh Gowda.
6-8: SUPER RAID! Bonus plus two touch points for Rakesh S as Surinder and Rajnish try unsuccessfully to push him off the mat but he gets his hand over the mid line in time.
5-5: Brilliant two-point raid from Mahendra Rajput. Parity restored.
3-5: Parvesh Bhainswal gets no support from his fellow defenders as he goes for Rajnish's ankle.
3-3: Failed ankle hold by Sumit and it is an easy touch point for Rajnish.
2-3: As elegant a dubki you'll ever see. Rakesh S gets a touch on Ruturaj.
1-2: Mahendra Rajput picks up a bonus for Gujarat Giants.
1-1: A great toe touch by Rajnish on Ankit on the right corner.
0-1: Rakesh S starts off with a bonus point.
Telugu Titans won the toss and it is the Giants who will raid first.
Still no Siddharth Desai.
8:37pm: LINE-UPS!
Telugu Titans: Surinder Singh, Ruturaj Koravi, Rajnish, C Arun, Adarsh, Rakesh Gowda, Shihas
Gujarat Giants: Sunil Kumar, Rakesh Narwal, Parvesh Bhainswal, Mahendra Rajput, Rakesh, Sumit, Ankit
8:30pm: While we wait for live action to begin, you can follow the first match of the evening here:
8:20pm: Head-to-head record- Telugu Titans and Gujarat Giants have faced each other four times in PKL and it is the Giants currently leading by 3-1.
8:15pm: Gujarat Giants' story is quite similar except that they have at least one win which they got in their season opener against Jaipur Pink Panthers. Post that, they have played ties against Dabang Delhi K.C. and U.P. Yoddha. Three of their four losses have been by three points or less including a heartbreaking 26-27 loss defeat to Patna Pirates on Saturday. The Giants have a fairly young and inexperienced raiding department but it is the defence that has let them down. Giants would hope to get their season back on track with a win over Telugu Titans.
8:10pm: It's a clash of the bottom two. Telugu Titans vs Gujarat Giants. When you closely look at the results of Telugu Titans' matches, you can't be blamed for thinking that they have been quite unlucky this season. Lack of presence of mind, a moment of brilliance from their opponent, sheer misfortune, call it what you may but the fact is that Telugu Titans's case, barring their last match where U Mumba comprehensively beat them 48-38, has been a case of so near yet so far. In their six other matches, they have two ties (against Tamil Thalaivas and Bengaluru Bulls) and four more losses (against Puneri Paltan, Haryana Steelers, Patna Pirates and Dabang Delhi K.C.) where the biggest margin of defeat has been just two points. Not only that, they have also been missing their star raider Siddharth Desai due to injury. Ankit Beniwal and Rajnish have done a commendable job in Desai's absense but if the Titans want to make it to the playoffs, they'll have to start dominating their fixtures from the word go. A big win against Gujarat Giants would be a great first step in that direction.
8:05pm: We have something interesting for you to do before we sit down to watch our second match tonight. The 2022 Sportstar Aces Awards are coming up and your favourite athletes and teams need your help to take home the top honours. From Neeraj Chopra and Mirabai Chanu to the Indian hockey team and Chennai Super Kings - star performers from 2021 are nominated over five popular choice categories and need your vote. CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR CHOICE COUNT.
If you're still unclear about the rules, here is some help:
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