PKL Season 11: Guman’s superb show helps Gujarat Giants beat Bengal Warriorz in thriller
Noida, Nov 27 (IANS) Guman Singh scored a Super 10 to help Gujarat Giants register their third win in their last five matches, beating Bengal Warriorz 39-37 in a nail-biting contest in Season 11 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the Noida Indoor Stadium here on Wednesday.
Guman Singh’s brilliant performance was enough for the Gujarat Giants to get over the line, despite Maninder Singh scoring a Super 10 and Nitesh Kumar completing a Hi-5 for the Bengal Warriorz.
The game got off to a fast start courtesy of Guman Singh, who got the first raid of the game. He followed it up with a Super Raid to wipe out three Bengal Warriorz players, giving his side a four-point lead in the opening exchanges. Bengal Warriorz roared back into the game, levelling things up at six-all, as Fazel Atrachali and Nitin Kumar got their team back into the mix.
It didn’t take Gujarat Giants too long to extend their lead back to four points as Himanshu Singh got the better of Fazel Atrachali on a successful Do-or-Die Raid. However, Mighty Mani was starting to find his groove with a couple of raids, while a tackle from Mayur Kadam helped Bengal Warriorz cut the deficit down to two points.
With the momentum on their side, Bengal Warriorz moved into the lead after inflicting an All Out on Gujarat Giants. At the end of a tightly contested first half, Maninder Singh and Guman Singh had seven raid points each, with Bengal Warriorz having a one-point lead as the scoreline read 20-19.
There was no separating the two teams as they went blow for blow at the start of the second half. The back-and-forth nature of the game continued as Gujarat Giants got their noses in front by two points.
The lead didn’t last for too long as Nitesh Kumar was starting to make his presence felt on the defensive end alongside his captain, while Maninder Singh’s efforts helped Bengal Warriorz level the score at 25 points each.
Entering the final quarter of the game, the Bengal Warriorz had a one-point lead with their defense performing exceptionally. Keeping in tune with the seesaw nature of the game though, Gujarat Giants moved ahead again, courtesy of a Super Tackle with under seven minutes to go in the game.
Bengal Warriorz got themselves back in the driver’s seat as Nitesh Kumar completed his Hi-5 with a tackle on Guman Singh. He followed it up by executing another brilliant tackle to inflict an All Out on the Gujarat Giants, giving his side a three-point lead. Mighty Mani also completed his third Super 10 of the season, keeping Bengal Warriorz in the lead.
With the clock ticking down, Guman Singh completed his Super 10 and got Gujarat Giants in the lead again with under two minutes to go. He also delivered the final blow to the Bengal Warriorz, inflicting an All Out and settling the result of the game beyond all doubt.
–IANS
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