It was an unforgettable night for the Giants in Haryana, as they registered their biggest ever win in Pro Kabaddi history, by beating Tamil Thalaivas 50-21 at Tau Devilal Sports Complex in Panchkula. We witnessed an absolute carnage from Rohit Gulia and Sonu Jaglan as the duo secured a Super 10 each, while Parvesh Bhainswal picked up a High 5 in this resounding win.
Manpreet made three changes to the Starting 7 as the Giants took the mat, desperate to win the match to keep their playoff hopes alive. Amit Kharb, Sonu Jaglan and Vinod Kumar started in place of Sunil Kumar, Sachin Tanwar and More GB. It was a huge gamble, removing such stars from the line up, but it paid out two-fold.
Sonu Jaglan and Rohit Gulia dominated proceedings right from the word go, with Tamil Thalaivas’ defence having no answers to stopping them from securing raid points.
Sonu Jaglan got a running hand touch on Ponparthiban in the do-or-die raid and we inflicted Tamil Thalaivas’ first All-Out in the 8th minute. Abhishek stepped out of the lobby and Rohit Gulia got a hand touch on Ran Singh, as we took a 11-4 lead after the All-Out.
The defence too joined the party with Rohit Gulia and Pankaj combining beautifully to pin down Ajith Kumar in the 9th minute. Rohit and Sonu Jaglan picked up raid points in almost every single raid, even though the Thalaivas’ defence fielded Superstars like Ran Singh and Mohit Chhillar.
With the scoreline reading 17-7, the Thalaivas picked up three quick points, but Rohit Gulia took down Abhishek and Amit tackled Rahul Chaudhari at the stroke of half-time. The Giants went into the break with an unassailable lead of 20-9.
The onslaught from Rohit Gulia and Sonu Jaglan continued even in the second half, as they sent the Tamil Thalaivas’ defenders to the bench at regular intervals.
The Thalaivas introduced Vineet Kumar in the second half and he got two raid points in his first raid but Ruturaj tackled him in the 24th minute.
After Vineet was sent to the bench, the Giants picked up four points in quick succession and bundled the Thalaivas out for the second time in the 27th minute.
In addition to Rohit Gulia and Sonu Jaglan, the defence too wreaked havoc with multiple tackles, and there were many empty and unsuccessful raids from Rahul Chaudhari and co. in the third quarter.
Sonu Jaglan got his first Super 10 in VIVO PKL after evading from Ajith Kumar’s challenge.
Meanwhile, Rohit Gulia not only picked up his Super 10 after taking down Ponparthiban but also enforced Thalaivas’ third All-Out in the 33rd minute.
Parvesh showed no mercy to the Thalaivas’ leading raider Rahul Chaudhri throughout the match and he secured his fourth High 5 after pinning the raider down with a double thigh hold in the last minute.
Gujarat Fortune Giants 50-21 Tamil Thalaivas
Perfect raider of the match: Sonu Jaglan
Ace defender of the match: Parvesh Bhainswal
Game change of the match: Rohit Gulia
What’s next..
After a six-match winless run, it’s good to see a commanding performance from the Giants. The thumping win also means that we keep our playoff hopes alive with three matches to go.
There is no doubt that our biggest ever win will definitely boost our confidence, and we will be back to take on the home team Haryana Steelers at the Tau Devilal Sports Complex in Panchkula on Sunday.
