PKL season nine has been a roller coaster ride for Gujarat Giants under Ram Mehar Singh. The team looked woefully out of form in the first half, but ever since South Korean Dong Geon Lee took over as the captain, they have won four matches on the trot and are still in the race to playoffs.
They decimated Telugu Titans 44-30 on Tuesday night and kept their hopes alive to make it to the last six. One of the prime reasons for their late rise in the tournament is that every player is managing to contribute, and somehow the coach has found the perfect balance in the team, with raiders who can defend.
A lot of credit for the team’s success also goes to the leadership of Lee, who until a few matches back was an unknown commodity in the PKL, but the leadership role has brought out the best in him. There was one particular moment in the match, where his tactical thinking was on full display.
During the second half of the match, when the Giants had already taken a substantial lead, K Hanumanthu, a new entrant for the Titans, had come to raid against a defence of three — Lee, Parteek, and Arkam Shaikh. The raider started the raid from the right corner, while the defence moved to the left. Swiftly, when Hanumanthu was starting to move towards them, Arkam moved on the right side, opening up a lot of space.
That meant, the raider had a lot of space to operate and run away to his half. But in turn, Lee and Arkam just charged at the raider, and just knocked him down with brute force.
— MAHARAJ JI (@MAHARAJ96620593) December 7, 2022
High 5
Lions did well
Well Played lions @GujaratGiants .
👏👏👏👏— Devv (@Imdevvvofficial) December 6, 2022
4th straight win For Gujarat Giants to keep themselves alive in Playoffs race
.#GUJvTT #gujaratgiants #pklseason9 #Kabaddi360 pic.twitter.com/IotioqJIEW— Kabaddi360 (@Kabaddi_360) December 6, 2022
Inching closer
Gujarat Giants with another big win and they are still alive in the race now.
Patna Pirates and U Mumba are out now.
5 teams remain- Haryana Steelers, Gujarat Giants, Dabang Delhi, Tamil Thalaivas, Bengal Warriors.#PKL9 #PKL2022 #VivoProKabaddi— Pritish Raj (@befikramusafir) December 6, 2022
Fingers crossed
4th win in a row for the @GujaratGiants, and they’re still in contention for a spot in the #PKL playoffs.
Their biggest test yet to come vs semifinalists, Jaipur Pink Panthers.
A lot rides on results of other teams as well.#VivoProKabaddi#FantasticPanga pic.twitter.com/MCSlZZg80y— Prasen Moudgal (@Prasen_m4299) December 6, 2022
Yeahh!! @GujaratGiants …. Hope Delhi lose their Last one by 7+ margin….🙏🙏🙏😬😬#Playoffs #vivoProKabaddiLeague
— Ayan Khanra (@AyanKha93842862) December 6, 2022
Much scope for improvement
@GujaratGiants Congratulations. Still better score difference could have helped us a lot.
— Chowkidar Dr. Dinesh Karia🇮🇳 (@dineshjk) December 6, 2022
Ohh!
@GujaratGiants Unfortunately our Daal-Bhaat and Khichadi are not producing many players. How.many Gujarati are in @ProKabaddi ?
— Chowkidar Dr. Dinesh Karia🇮🇳 (@dineshjk) December 6, 2022
@GujaratGiants we can (and have to) increase the margin in raids not in defense only. Is MGR not better than Lee in multipoint?
— Chowkidar Dr. Dinesh Karia🇮🇳 (@dineshjk) December 6, 2022
Get updates! Follow us on