Gujarat Giants Vs Haryana Steelers 02 February 2024

Full-Time
Gujarat Giants 30 - 34 Haryana Steelers

Manpreet Singh is one of the best coaches in the PKL and he showed why as he inspired his side to put in a wonderful 2nd-half performance to make a brilliant comeback. 

The first half belonged to Fazel Atrachali and the Gujarat Giants, and the Iranian didn't put a foot wrong, scoring six tackle points in five tackles as they took a 11-point lead into the break. However, a different Steelers came out for the 2nd half, and the same can be said about Gujarat and Fazel. 

The Sultan scored only one point in the 2nd half and even that came too late. Post the break, it was Haryana's turn to dominate, and that they did, with Vinay starring in the raiding department, with Shivam Patare also getting some useful points. 

However, it was really their defense that won them this match as both Mohit Khaler in the left corner and Mohit Nandal were brilliant, with the former coming good at the most crucial moments in the match.

The Giants' defense has a brilliant day, with Deepak Singh and Fazel both getting High 5s, but only 9 raid points will concern coach Ram Mehar Singh. They remain in 6th place after this defeat while the Steelers move up to 4th.

That's all from an absorbing contest on a wonderful opening night of the Delhi leg of PKL 10. Until next time, this is Shreyas signing off! Goodnight!

2nd Half, 40'
Gujarat Giants 30 - 34 Haryana Steelers

Sonu Jaglan gets a quick touch point on Mohit Nandal to breathe some life into this match, but in his very next raid, Jaideep Dahiya comes in with a ferocious block, and he has no chance, and that should be that!

Vinay has a do-or-die raid with around 40 seconds to play, but he does well to kill the time, and get a bonus point before he's tackled! Parteek Dahiya knows the game is lost and doesn't try for a point in the final raid as the Haryana Steelers script a comeback for the ages! What a match this has been!

2nd Half, 39'
Gujarat Giants 28 - 32 Haryana Steelers

They've done it! The turnaround is completed. Rakesh HS has no chance as Mohit Khaler strikes at the right time with an iron-clad ankle hold, and the Giants are down to one, with Vinay having the easiest of surrender raids to register an all-out. The Steelers now lead by 3!

Make that 4! Mohit Khaler in the Haryana left is putting in some clutch tackles here! This time, he brings down Parteek Dahiya with another well-timed ankle hold, and the Steelers are running away with this.

Around two and a half minutes to play, and the Giants are down to two and staring at an all-out. Advantage Steelers right now!

2nd Half, 38'
Gujarat Giants 28 - 27 Haryana Steelers

What a comeback this is from Haryana! Only one point separating the two teams as Vinay isolates Nabibakhsh and gets away easily from his weak ankle hold attempt.

Timeout called!

2nd Half, 36'
Gujarat Giants 28 - 26 Haryana Steelers

Vinay has switched gears here, and he's going at full throttle for the Steelers. Deepak Singh makes the error this time, and Vinay rides the challenge well to quickly get to the mid-line.

At the other end, Parteek Dahiya is faced with a do-or-die raid, and the Steelers wait and wait before finally going for the kill, and who else but their two captains in the cover combination.

Suddenly, it's a two-point game, the Giants are down to three, and we have a little under four minutes to play!

2nd Half, 34'
Gujarat Giants 28 - 24 Haryana Steelers

The Steelers have the wind behind their sails here! Fazel Atrachali makes an error for the first time tonight, with Vinay escaping from his attempted ankle hold. At the other end, Sonu Jaglan has no chance against Mohit Nandal's block in a do-or-die raid as the deficit comes down to three.

However, Shivam Patare puts in a 2nd consecutive unsuccessful raid as Deepak Singh powerfully dashes him out. He gets to his High 5, and while Fazel has been quiet in this 2nd half, the right cover has carried on.

2nd Half, 32'
Gujarat Giants 27 - 22 Haryana Steelers

Sonu Jaglan does really well to get to the lightning-quick Shivam Patare in the nick of time and dash him off court. He was definitely escaping with a multi-point raid otherwise. He has had a poor outing in the raiding department, but that's a vital contribution in defense.

2nd Half, 31'
Gujarat Giants 26 - 22 Haryana Steelers

Parteek Dahiya gets the Giants' first raid point in a long time, escaping from Shivam Patare's ambitious advance challenge.

Vinay then attempts to get a bonus point, and is dashed off court by Deepak Singh, who also goes out of bounds in the process. The Steelers review for a bonus point, but the review is unsuccessful.

Rahul Sethpal's challenge is converted brilliantly into a tackle point by the Steelers' defense as Parteek Dahiya gets close to the mid-line, but is unable to cross it.

The whistle blows for the timeout, and the Steelers are right back in this! Fazel has been kept quiet in this 2nd half, and it's just a 4-point game now. This should go down to the wire.

2nd Half, 28'
Gujarat Giants 24 - 19 Haryana Steelers

The all-out arrives, and the Steelers have launched a stellar comeback here! Shivam Patare does well to cleanly get away with a point in a 1v2 situation, and the out-of-form Rakesh HS can't do much when the Haryana cover combination pounces on him.

2nd Half, 27'
Gujarat Giants 23 - 15 Haryana Steelers

Shivam Patare shows his class, racing across the mat to get the running hand touch on the makeshift Gujarat left corner. Both teams remain content to put in empty raids, and soon enough, the do-or-die raids come up.

First, it's the Giants' turn, and Nitin is halted by a block from the left-in Ghanshyam Magar, and the Giants are down to two now.

2nd Half, 24'
Gujarat Giants 23 - 13 Haryana Steelers

The Giants are faced with a Do-or-Die raid, and Sonu Jaglan can escape from Mohit Nandal's attempted dash, but the second line of defense proves too good for him. Four successive points for the Steelers and they're right back in this match.

Uh-oh! That's the last thing they want! Down to three, the Giants were in trouble, but Sombir's ankle hold gets the necessary support in the nick of time from Deepak Singh and Nabibakhsh as Vinay is held down successfully in a Super Tackle situation.

2nd Half, 22'
Gujarat Giants 21 - 12 Haryana Steelers

Solid start to the half from the Steelers as Rahul Sethpal brings down a flying Parteek Dahiya with a double knee hold. A good start from their defense, but their raiders also have to do the job against an in-form Fazel and that won't be easy.

But Vinay does well to capitalize on a rare slip from the Gujarat captain, putting in a dive to walk away with a point. Good start to the half this from the Steelers.

Half-Time
Gujarat Giants 21 - 10 Haryana Steelers

It started with an ankle hold on Vinay in a Super Tackle situation to help the Giants avoid an all-out, and it was followed by a barrage of mighty blocks, powerful dashes, and the tightest of ankle holds as the Sultan Fazel Atrachali raced to 6 tackle points in only five tackles, and he hasn't spent a single second on the bench so far!

He has masterminded the Giants' performance so far, with the Giants' 12 tackle points far superior to the Steelers' 4, and that has been the difference between the two sides. Can the Steelers mount a comeback?

1st Half, 20'
Gujarat Giants 21 - 10 Haryana Steelers

The substitute Ghanshyam Magar gets the kick spot-on to dismiss Mohammad Nabibakhsh. Jaideep Dahiya then doesn't miss out on an opportunity to tackle Nitin in a 1v4 situation.

However, their mini-momentum is immediately disrupted as Parteek Dahiya times his diving ankle hold to perfection to trap Ghanshyam Magar as the whistle blows for half-time.

An absolute defensive masterclass from Fazel Atrachali has helped the Giants take a 11-point lead into half-time. Can the Giants hold on to their lead?

1st Half, 18'
Gujarat Giants 20 - 8 Haryana Steelers

3rd tackle point for Deepak Singh and his mighty block is too much for Siddharth Desai, who has had a woeful night so far. Fazel's confidence has clearly inspired the young right cover, and the Steelers have had no answer to the duo!

The Steelers down to three now.

1st Half, 16'
Gujarat Giants 18 - 8 Haryana Steelers

Deepak Singh is not one to hold back from putting in aggressive tackles, and he sends Shivam Patare flying off the mat with a well-timed dash. The Giants' lead goes up to ten points now, and it's their defense that has taken them there.

1st Half, 14'
Gujarat Giants 17 - 8 Haryana Steelers

Finally, Mohit Khaler in the Haryana left corner comes to life and puts in a well-timed ankle hold on the wrong foot of Parteek Dahiya to surprise him at just the right moment.

However, at the other end, Deepak Singh joins the part for the Giants with a solid double thigh hold which Vinay can't escape from.

1st Half, 12'
Gujarat Giants 15 - 7 Haryana Steelers

High 5 for the Sultan as the Giants claim the first all-out of the match! Prapanjan is brought down by a monstrous block from the Iranian, and down to one, it's an easy surrender raid for Parteek Dahiya as the Giants take an 8-point lead!

And oh my word! You won't believe this! In the very next raid, Fazel then puts in a mighty block once more, this time hauling Siddharth Desai off the mat. He has six tackle points in only five attempts with a 100% SR! 

The experienced Prapanjan comes on for the Steelers as a substitute in a Do-or-die raid.

1st Half, 10'
Gujarat Giants 10 - 6 Haryana Steelers

The Giants have another Do-or-die raid right before the timeout, and with a Super Tackle on for the Steelers, there was a lot of pressure on Parteek Dahiya. However, he keeps his wits about him and patiently uses as much time as he can, expects the tackle from Rahul Sethpal, and does enough to get through to the mid-line.

A neat 4-point lead and a chance for an all-out for the Giants early in this match. Can the Steelers avoid it?

1st Half, 9'
Gujarat Giants 9 - 6 Haryana Steelers

Parteek Dahiya scores a neat bonus point under Mohit's eye-line once again. Fazel Atrachali appears to be in the zone today, and he puts in a solid dash to send Shivam Patare back to the bench.

Both teams then opt to play on the Do-or-Die raid, with Parteek Dahiya patiently drawing the error from Mohit Nandal to escape with a point.

At the other end, Fazel Atrachali is on fire, and puts in a 3rd successive successful tackle! This time, he puts in a pitch-perfect ankle hold to stop the mighty Siddharth Desai, and guess what, he has 4 tackle points in only 3 attempts! 

The Steelers are down to three now.

1st Half, 6'
Gujarat Giants 5 - 5 Haryana Steelers

The Steelers get their nose ahead as Vinay executes the smoothest of turns to escape from Sombir's attempted block before Sonu Jaglan is trapped by Rahul Sethpal.

With only three on the mat, the Giants are in jeopardy, but their captain bails them out with a terrific ankle hold that gives Vinay no chance. First Super Tackle of the match, and who else but the Sultan to do it?

1st Half, 4'
Gujarat Giants 3 - 3 Haryana Steelers

The Haryana co-captain joins the party to pick up the Steelers' first tackle point of the night to bring Parteek Dahiya down. Vinay then opens his account, anticipating the advance challenge from Deepak Singh, escaping easily with a point to level the scores.

1st Half, 2'
Gujarat Giants 3 - 1 Haryana Steelers

Shivam Patare is very quick to retreat to the mid-line after getting the bonus point to start this match off on a good note for the Steelers. Sonu immediately returns the favor with a bonus under the nose of the left corner chain.

Siddharth Desai's evening doesn't start on a nice note, with Sombir making no mistake with his ankle hold in the right corner. Shivam Patare is also dashed off the mat by the Gujara left cover Balaji D. Ohh wait, the officials award the point the other way, giving a bonus + point to the young left raider as he seems to have got past the mid-line before his entire body is off-court.

However, the Giants are confident they have their man and review early. And the review is successful! Brilliant decision from Fazel and co., and the Giants take the early lead.

Shivam Patare will start things off for the Steelers. He has been in really good form, the youngster, and he's got a ton of pace.

Unsure who to hand your captain's armband to? Worry not as we have you covered. Click the link to below to know who the optimal captaincy and vice-captaincy options are:

Here are three player battles you should keep an eye on throughout this match:

Pick the ideal Dream11 team for this match-up filled with PKL stars with the help of Sportskeeda's Dream11 prediction:

Team News

The starting lineups of both teams are as follows:

Gujarat Giants: Fazel Atrachali (C), Sonu Jaglan, Mohammad Nabibakhsh, Sombir, Parteek Dahiya, Deepak Singh, and Balaji D.

Haryana Steelers: Jaideep Dahiya (C), Mohit Nandal, Vinay, Siddharth Desai, Shivam Patare, Rahul Sethpal, and Mohit Khaler.

While the Steelers are unchanged, the Giants have one alteration to their starting lineup, with Rakesh HS's continuous sub-par outings earning him a demotion to the bench, with Sonu Jaglan taking his place.

Preview

Hello, good evening, and welcome to Sportskeeda's coverage of the Pro Kabaddi League. We're on the first day of the Delhi leg, and following the hosts' contest against the Bengal Warriors, we have another tight match-up between the Gujarat Giants and the Haryana Steelers at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium.

The playoffs race is heating up and these two teams are right in the thick of it, with the Steelers in 5th place, having scored 50 points in 16 matches, with the Giants in 6th, having scored a point lesser in the same number of games.

Fazel Atrachali's side comes into this match after a heavy 20-32 loss to the Patna Pirates after leading at half-time. Meanwhile, Jaideep Dahiya and co. won their last encounter with the Bengal Warriors, with their raiding unit in sync after a long time.

The last meeting between these two teams finished in a close 31-29 win for the Steelers, and more of the same can be expected. I, Shreyas, will be bringing you all the live action. Team news and more coming right up!