The Gujarat Giants defeated the Tamil Thalaivas 37-28 Saturday evening, securing their first victory of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 12 thanks to an outstanding defensive effort. Rakesh and Mohammadreza Shadloui both scored six points, and Nitin Panwar’s High Five helped the team win in the Vishwanadh Sports Club in Vizag.
In the beginning, both teams cautiously raided and defended to test one another. Rakesh and Nitin helped the Giants score early, with the latter standing out for his all-around performance. Gujarat’s defense remained disciplined despite efforts by prominent Thalaivas figures Arjun Deshwal and Pawan Sehrawat to up the pace.
The highlight was when Nitin’s incredible Super Tackle halted Pawan as he tried to get through. The Giants camp was energized and given the psychological advantage by Nitin’s first of three similar movements in the first half. Gujarat led by a slim margin of 10-7 at the 10-minute mark.
In the first half, Nitin’s early High Five proved to be the deciding factor. When Ronak pinned down Himanshu Singh in the second phase, he performed another Super Tackle that gave them more momentum and made it harder for the Thalaivas to turn raids into points.
With Pawan leading the charge with a successful Do-or-Die raid and then sending Rakesh off the mat, the Thalaivas were able to start a fightback. The Giants, however, had a five-point lead going into halftime with the scoreboard reading 17–12 because to their compact defense and overall discipline.
The game took a sharp turn in the third quarter as the Thalaivas fought their way back into it. Rakesh’s successful raid early in the half gave the Giants the appearance of stability, but Arjun Deshwal’s pivotal raid that gave the Giants an ALL OUT changed the tide of the game. The Thalaivas’ challenge came to life at that very moment.
Shridhar Kadam stepped up to keep the tally moving as the Giants answered with their replacements. However, following successful raids on Nitin and Sumit, Pawan retaliated in grand fashion. The Thalaivas had reduced the difference to a slim advantage of 24–21 by the end of this section.
Shadloui’s string of pivotal events, including his successful raid that sent Nitesh Kumar to the bench and his tackling of Narender Kandola to complete an ALL OUT on the Thalaivas, dashed the Tamil Thalaivas’ chances of a comeback.
Pawan and Arjun made an effort to keep the scoreboard going for the Thalaivas, but the Giants’ replacements brought something new to the game. With a game-changing raid that eliminated Pawan and Ronak and cemented the Giants’ supremacy, Shridhar was especially potent.
Even though Arjun scored a late raid point against Shadloui, the Giants won by a comfortable nine points thanks to their combination of defense and support raiding.
