Pro Kabaddi League: A defence firing on all cylinders and two raiders, Rakesh (14 points) and Rohit Gulia (9 points) ensured the Gujarat Giants broke their losing rut to get a massive 42-30 win against the Tamil Thalaivas in a Season 2 clash of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium here on Sunday. The win allowed Gujarat Giants to climb to fourth position on the table. Right from the start the Gujarat Giants were in control of proceedings, for once their raiders outdid the defence department throughout the first half. Soon enough they had the Thalaivas scrambling on the mat, and despite Sagar’s Super Tackle to stave off a heavy deficit, it wasn’t enough. The Gujarat Giants inflicted the first All-Out of the game with seven minutes of the first half left, one in which Rakesh and Rohit Gulia had run riot with impunity. They went into the break leading by five points 18-13.
They maintained an iron-clad grip on the game through the second half and within five minutes of the restart had inflicted a second All-Out to streak into a massive lead. The Thalaivas slowly attempted to build some momentum back and got an All-Out of their own with seven minutes of the game to go, to reduce the gap to 10 points.
Unbelievably, considering the Giants’ dominance, Fazel Atrachali only managed to get his first point of the game with four minutes to play, at a time when the Thalaivas had suddenly seized the momentum.
That one tackle halted it, and the Giants woke up to reestablish their dominance. Rakesh provided one more final highlight for the evening with a multi-point raid, to ensure the Giants took a huge win.
