Tamil Thalaivas lost to Gujarat Giants 33-43 in the 129th match of Pro Kabaddi Season 8. The most effective player of the match for the Gujarat Giants was Mahendra Ganesh Rajput. He was ably supported by Parvesh Bhainswal. Himanshu's efforts went in vain tonight.
Coach Manpreet Singh will be delighted with this win as it takes his team to the 7th spot on the points table with 62 points. This loss leaves Tamil Thalaivas in the 11th spot with 47 points.
Gujarat Giants were dominant in the raiding department scoring 21 points to Tamil Thalaivas's 18. When it came to tackling Gujarat Giants scored 14 points to Tamil Thalaivas's 11 points. Gujarat Giants cleaned up the opposition into 3 All-Outs. And that made all the difference.
The mainstay of the Gujarat Giants was Sunil Kumar staying on the mat for 93% of the raids and scoring 4 points.
It was a cat and mouse game between the two sides, with teams trading points and lead changing sides 5 times over the game. But the game changed in the 83rd raid when Maninder Singh scored a valuable 1 points to swing the momentum in favour of the Gujarat Giants.
Gujarat Giants were simply superior in the raiding department led by Mahendra Ganesh Rajput
Mahendra Ganesh Rajput scored 10 raid points and he was supported by Pradeep Kumar with 5 points. Mahendra Ganesh Rajput kept picking points to keep the Tamil Thalaivas at bay.
Himanshu delivered for the Tamil Thalaivas with 7 points, but it was not sufficient on the day against the Gujarat Giants. Tamil Thalaivas scored a total of 18 raid points and their raiders were tackled 19 times.
Gujarat Giants scored when mattered
The teams were well-matched in both raiding and defence, but the Gujarat Giants picked points when it mattered. Eventually, they sent Tamil Thalaivas for 3 all-outs but conceded just 1. And that helped them get a sufficient lead to run away with the match.
Last minute all-out drowned Tamil Thalaivas
In the 75th raid, Tamil Thalaivas conceded an all-out as Pradeep Kumar taking out Sagar B. Krishna who was the last man standing. This just widened the gap from which Tamil Thalaivas never recovered.
Key Moments in the Match
| Raid 1 | TN 0 - 0 GJ | Manjeet (TN) | Manjeet has done an empty raid. |
| Raid 11 | TN 3 - 2 GJ | Himanshu (TN) | Raid sees Himanshu taken out by the Gujarat Giants defense. |
| Raid 19 | TN 4 - 6 GJ | Himanshu (TN) | Himanshu thrown out of lobby by Gujarat Giants defense, Girish Ernak manages to stay inside the line and saves a point. |
| Raid 23 | TN 6 - 11 GJ | Sagar B. Krishna (TN) | Perfect team play, the defense ushers the raider Sagar Krishna out of the mat. Raider however pinches a bonus. |
| Raid 32 | TN 10 - 13 GJ | Rakesh Sangroya (GJ) | It's Himanshu again as he takes Rakesh Sangroya off his feet and pummels him to the ground. |
| Raid 37 | TN 11 - 14 GJ | Himanshu Virender (TN) | Himanshu Virender is tackled successfully by Gujarat Giants defense. |
| Raid 38 | TN 11 - 16 GJ | Mahendra Ganesh Rajput (GJ) | Wily move this from Mahendra. Himanshu goes for a tackle, but raider slips way and tackler has to leave the court. |
| Raid 44 | TN 19 - 16 GJ | Himanshu (TN) | Himanshu muscles his way past P Bhainswal, Girish Ernak and picks up the point of the game. |
| Raid 50 | TN 20 - 21 GJ | Himanshu (TN) | Himanshu is tackled successfully by Gujarat Giants defense. |
| Raid 58 | TN 23 - 27 GJ | Manjeet (TN) | Sunil Kumar, Girish Ernak trap raider Manjeet, after he pinched a bonus point. |
| Raid 71 | TN 27 - 34 GJ | Mahendra Ganesh Rajput (GJ) | Mahendra gets another raid point as he takes out Himanshu, Sagar. |
| Raid 75 | TN 29 - 39 GJ | Pradeep Kumar (GJ) | Pradeep Kumar gets his man! He's been targeting Sagar Krishna for a while now and finally gets him out with a smart Hand Touch. |
| Raid 80 | TN 33 - 41 GJ | Himanshu (TN) | Himanshu muscles his way past Pradeep Kumar, Girish Ernak and picks up the point of the game. |
