After a close 41-39 victory over UP Yoddhas at the SDAT Multi-Purpose Indoor Stadium on Thursday, the Gujarat Giants completed the double and earned back-to-back victories. Along with Lucky Sharma’s four tackles, Rakesh Sungroya led the assault with his greatest performance to date, scoring 20 raid points as Guman Singh’s Super 10 went in vain for the Yoddhas.
Table-toppers Dabang Delhi K.C. also secured their spot in the top eight with this outcome, even though they had earlier in the evening lost to Bengal Warriorz.
With everything on the line in this match, both teams got off to a quick start, with both captains opening their teams’ accounts. Sumit Sangwan set the tone for his team with a couple of tackles, while Rakesh Sungroya caused the majority of the Gujarat Giants’ early damage. As the two sides clashed early on, Guman Singh celebrated his debut by reaching a league milestone of 600 raid points.
Rakesh was receiving help from Harish Kamatchi, who was making an impression for the Gujarat Giants. As the two teams refused to concede an inch, Guman Singh was keeping the scoreboard moving for the UP Yoddhas. After a fiercely contested first quarter, Mahender Singh’s tackle put his team ahead by one point.
For the Giants, Rakesh was having a great game. He finished his Super 10 with a multi-point raid on a Do-Or-Die. For the Gujarat Giants, he scored 10 of 15 points before executing the game’s first ALL OUT to put his team ahead 20–16. His team led by three points at 22-19 after a fiercely contested first half.
Hitesh swiftly reacted for the Yoddhas after Lucky Sharma recorded the first tackle of the second half. With another two-point raid, Rakesh continued his excellent play and increased the Giants’ lead. With their captain giving their opponents a second ALL OUT, they made that dominance matter and took a ten-point lead in this match.
As the pace slowed, Mohammadreza Shadloui made a few tackles to maintain his team’s lead. But the Yoddhas’ comeback track was started by Guman Singh and Bhavani Rajput, the former of whom finished his Super 10. They subsequently completed an ALL OUT, cutting the score to three points, thanks to a tackle by Hitesh.
After he made another tackle, Bhavani Rajput’s successful Do-Or-Die Raid helped them tie the score at 36-36. To give Gujarat Giants a two-point lead, Lucky Sharma recorded his fourth tackle of the evening, and Himanshu Singh received a vital raid.
With a minute remaining, UP Yoddhas answered with a raid by Guman Singh and a tackle from Mahender Singh, tying the score at 38-38. Mohammadreza Shadloui saved the day by giving the Giants a 40-39 advantage when they had a chance to seize the lead in the game’s penultimate raid. Ankit Dahiya’s tackle on Guman ultimately secured the victory, earning the Gujarat Giants a 41-39 victory to maintain their hopes of making the playoffs.
