PKL 8: Gujarat stun Mumbai, Pune knock out Jaipur

The Giants put a dent on U Mumba's playoff aspirations.

A collective performance helped Gujarat Giants beat U Mumba 36-33 in match 131 of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 8. The victory on the final day of the league stages helped the Giants seal a place in the playoffs and in the process knock out Jaipur Pink Panthers. Raider Rakesh S was the star for two-time finalists Gujarat. He scored a Super 10 (13 points) and ensured the Giants had an early lead in the match. The experienced defence then guarded the team to secure an important victory. 

U Mumba ended their hot-and-cold campaign with a defeat and will probably need to add more firepower to the squad in the summer. Their raider Ajith Kumar did however pick up a Super 10 (11 points) in the match.

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Coach Manpreet Singh’s men knew a win could secure a playoff spot and started the match with positive intent. Their raider Rakesh S was in red-hot form as he consistently found errors in Mumbai's defence that looked low on confidence. The Mumbai team had clearly been deflated by their poor campaign and Gujarat looked to take advantage by pushing for an early lead. They got their first ALL OUT in the 7th minute when Rakesh clinched a 2-point raid (+2 for ALL OUT). That made the scores 10-4 and despite Shivam’s best efforts in the raids, Mumbai could not close the gap. Rakesh picked his Super 10 in the final minute of the first half that ended 19-14.

Gujarat clinched another ALL OUT in the first move of the second half to open a 9-point lead. Ajith Kumar added a few points for U Mumba but they lacked the usual desire on the mat allowing Gujarat to sustain their lead. Fazel Atrachali, usually a lively character dishing out plans to his teammates, was quiet as he watched the game unfold. He did however produce a stunning tackle on Mahendra Rajput in the 10th minute to remind the world of his limitless abilities. Shivam then scored a 2-point raid to reduce Gujarat to just 2 men on the mat. 

Ajith completed the clean-up act with a 2+2 point raid after the Time Out to make it a 4-point match. He also picked up his Super 10 for Mumbai as they sensed a possible comeback. But the Gujarat defence understood the importance of the win and kept calm in the final minutes to clinch a win.

Puneri Paltan knock Jaipur Pink Panthers out of the playoff race

Mohit Goyat and Aslam Inamdar once again showed why they are regarded amongst the best young talent in Kabaddi by helping Puneri Paltan beat Jaipur Pink Panthers 37-30 in a crucial match 130 of PKL Season 8. Mohit Goyat (14 points) and Aslam Inamdar (11 points) ensured Jaipur had no opportunity to make a comeback despite Arjun Deshwal’s best efforts. The Panthers’ raider scored 18 points but found very little support from his teammates.

Both teams entered the mat with a possibility of securing a playoff spot – Jaipur needed a win while Pune needed a victory with a points difference of 28+. In the end, both teams couldn’t confirm a place and will now wait for results from Haryana Steelers’ and Gujarat Giant’s matches. The biggest winner from the result was in fact Bengaluru Bulls who now secured a place in the eliminators.

The pre-match build-up was all about the battle between star raiders Arjun Deshwal and Mohit Goyat. But they had a slow start as the defences dominated the early minutes. Jaipur’s Brijendra Singh was exceptional as the team opened a 3-point lead. But Pune slowly staged a comeback with Aslam Inamdar finding errors in the Jaipur defence.

The match opened up after the first 10 minutes. With Arjun Deshwal in the dugout, Pune sensed an opportunity to push for a healthy advantage. Mohit Goyat got into the act – a clever side-dubki drawing a point from Sandeep Dhull in a Super Tackle situation - as Pune clinched an ALL OUT in the 16th minute to open a 4-point lead. They continued to control the pace of the match and widened to the lead to 7 points by halftime (18-11).

Pune got their second ALL OUT in the first move of the second half. Aslam Inamdar then followed it with a 3-point Super Raid with a fabulous dubki. That gave Paltan a 13-point lead but Arjun Deshwal found his rhythm on the mat. He picked his Super 10 in the 7th minute after the restart and reduced Pune’s lead to 10 points by the 10th minute. Pune wanted a 28-point win to ensure qualification for the playoffs.

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Aslam Inamdar secured his Super 10 while at the other end Arjun Deshwal kept picking up the points. Deepak Hooda’s absence from the line-up meant Jaipur were overly reliant on Arjun for the raid points. Mohit Goyat showed his all-rounder abilities by initiating a Super Tackle on Arjun Deshwal with 6 minutes remaining. But substitute Naveen came to Jaipur’s rescue with an important touchpoint that revived Arjun immediately. Pune’s lead was 11 points with 5 minutes remaining but Jaipur could smell the possibility of an ALL OUT. 

The Panthers inflicted that ALL OUT with 3 minutes remaining to slash Paltan’s lead to just 5 points. The Season 1 champions could confirm a playoff spot with a win but Pune had other ideas. Mohit Goyat produced a stunning tackle on Arjun Deshwal to send him to the bench and Aslam followed it with a successful raid by touching Sandeep Dhull. That helped Pune open a lead and win with a margin of 7 points. 

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