PKL 2021: Pardeep Narwal led UP Yoddha claw back to rescue nail-biting 32-32 tie vs Gujarat Giants: Gujarat Giants and UP Yoddha shared points after they played out a 32-32 draw in the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 at the Sheraton Grand Whitfield, here on Wednesday.
Gujarat Giants would rue the result as they led for most parts of the match, holding a good 20-14 lead at the break, while UP Yoddha staged a spectacular comeback in the second half to give nothing away and make Gujarat work hard for every point. Rakesh Narwal was the star raider for Gujarat Giants with 13 points, supported by Ajay Kumar while Girish Ernak (4 tackle points) was a live-wire in the defence. Follow PKL 8 Live Updates on InsideSport.IN
PKL 2021: Pardeep Narwal led UP Yoddha claw back to rescue nail-biting 32-32 tie vs Gujarat Giants
For UP Yoddha, Pardeep Narwal sizzled with 11 raid points and he got ample support from Surender Gill with 6 points. Pardeep Narwal started well for UP Yoddha with a splendid two-pointer when he foiled a defensive tackle from Rakesh and Girish Ernak. Ajay Kumar then put Gujarat on the scoresheet with his first raid when he got a running touch on Surender Gill.
Shaandaar, Zabardast, Zindabaad 👏
Apne badhiya Super 10 ki badaulat Pardeep Narwal hain aaj ke 𝐈𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐱 𝐘𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐡𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 🤩#UPvGG #YoddhaHum #SaansRokSeenaThok #GMR #vivoProKabaddi #SuperhitPanga #ThodiHimmatThodaIodex #DontStopYourselfStopThePain pic.twitter.com/yfvsoPl3QV
— U.P. YODDHA (@UpYoddha) December 29, 2021
All eyes then were on Rakesh Narwal who came up with a productive raid for Gujarat and put them in the lead at 4-3, when he took three defenders out. A superb defensive work from Gujarat Giants saw them send talisman Pardeep Narwal to the bench as Gujarat extended their lead at 6-3.
Surender Gill avoided an all out for UP Yoddha as he accounted for Ravinder Pahal and in the process also scored a bonus point in a good raid. Soon UP Yoddha restored parity at 7-7 when Surender Gill and Sumit felled Rakesh.
It was Gujarat Giants who slowly rose into control when Rakesh beat two UP Yoddha defenders, scored four points and inflicted an all outon the Uttar Pradesh team at 7-12. However, a defensive lapse by Gujarat Giants on Pardeep Narwal helped UP Yoddha crawl back at 8-14 as the ‘Dubki King’ scored a touch point.
PKL 2021: Pardeep Narwal led UP Yoddha claw back to rescue nail-biting 32-32 tie vs Gujarat Giants
Gujarat Giants upped the ante soon as Girish Ernakand Sunil Kumar were on top of their defence skills as they sent Pardeep Narwal out as they consolidated their lead at 15-8. Rakesh Narwal was in tremendous form as he executed a running touch on Sumit to perfection, with good balance, as Gujarat Giants extended their lead to 17-9.
At the stroke of half time Gujarat Giants held on to a lead at 20-14 with impressive performances from Girish Ernak and Rakesh Narwal.
UP Yoddha stood a better team in the second half negating all advance tackle attempts from Gujarat Giants and restored parity at 22-22 when Pardeep Narwal got a toe touch, upheld by a review, on Sunil Kumar. Rakesh Narwal soon completed his Super 10 of the night while the Gujarat Giants held on to a slender lead at 25-23.
Ajay Kumar then dodged two UP Yoddha defenders as he freed himself from an ankle hold to give a slender advantage to Gujarat Giants at 29-26. The teams traded points and there was nothing to separate both the teams as they dished out an excellent all-round performance.
Also read: PKL 2021 Live: Haryana Steelers’ Rohit Gulia wants his team to hold on to lead, work on defense
PKL 2021: Pardeep Narwal led UP Yoddha claw back to rescue nail-biting 32-32 tie vs Gujarat Giants
“We have had really close games so far and I am happy with both our defenders and raiders, but I also realise that we cannot leave the game till the final moments and that’s what we will have to address in the season ahead. As a team, we need to press hard right from the start and I am confident that we will be able to do so from our next game.” said Head Coach of UP Yoddha Jasveer Singh.
UP Yoddha’s performance against the giants statistically isn’t the best, but what definitely comes to their advantage is the fact that the last time they locked horns with Gujarat Fortune Giants, the Yoddha’s dominated the game with a comfortable 33-26 win.
The game is expected to be action-packed and full of excitement as UP Yoddha and Gujarat Giants stand at number 7 and 6 in a points table, respectively. Meanwhile, both teams will be in a search hunt operation for their 2nd win of the ongoing PKL season.
PKL 2021: Pardeep Narwal led UP Yoddha claw back to rescue nail-biting 32-32 tie vs Gujarat Giants
Gujarat Giants squad
- Defenders – Parvesh Bhainswal, Sunil Kumar, Sumit, Ankit, Soleiman Pahlevani
- Raider – Harmanjeet Singh, Sonu, Rathan K, Maninder Singh, Harshit Yadav, Pardeep Kumar, Ajay Kumar
- All-rounder – Hadi Oshtorak, Girish Maruti Ernak
UP Yoddha squad
Surender Gill, Pardeep Narwal, Md. Masud Karim, Mohammad Taghi Paen Mahali, Shrikant Jadhav, Sahil, Gulveer Singh, Ankit, Gaurav Kumar, Aashish Nagar, Nitesh Kumar, Sumit, Ashu Singh, Nitin Panwar, Gurdeep
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