U Mumba Vs Gujarat Giants 08 December 2024

FULL TIME 40' U Mumba 34-33 Gujarat Giants

Gujarat Giants clinch victory off the final raid and stay in the hunt for the playoffs! A do-or-die raid for U Mumba right at the end and it was Manjeet who was given the job with both the teams on 33 points each. He tried for a few times against a defense of 5 but then he was met by the most clutch ankle hold from Rohit in the left corner who has turned this game upside down in the last few minutes.

It was a see-saw battle right from the start till the very end. U Mumba did well in the initial stages to get Gujarat down to 1 man but an uncharacteristic error in defense from skipper Sunil is what started the comeback for the Giants. U Mumba did get the all-out a couple of minutes later but the Giants had made sure that they were within touching distance.

It was Ajit Chouhan and HS Rakesh who did the majority of the scoring in the first half but then Guman Singh got into the act in the second half and picked up a Super-10 too. A super raid from Ajit Chouhan, who ended up with 14 raid points, with 4 minutes to go brought U Mumba back to level terms but their defense continued to have an off day and as is the case with them they could not seal the victory with their defense not clicking. Rohit was subbed in the left corner of the Giants in the second half and towards the end he put in clutch tackle after tackle to get his side across the line and getting a High-5 for him in the process.

U Mumba stay on number 4 in the points table but the Giants live to fight another day, they have got the victory they needed to keep their campaign alive and they now are at number 10. 

Phew, what a thriller! Allow me to take your leave and catch my breath first. Here's Sourabh wishing you a good night!

39' U Mumba 33-33 Gujarat Giants

Back level yet again! This time a tackle on HS Rakesh and we have just 1 minute remaining, nothing to separate the two teams. This is going down to the last raid

39' U Mumba 32-33 Gujarat Giants

Huge backhold on Rohit Raghav from Rohit in the opposite side! Clutch tackle from Rohit on his namesake and with 90 seconds to go, this is yours to call

38' U Mumba 32-32 Gujarat Giants

Chain tackle on Ajit Chouhan and we are back on level terms once more! A brilliant chain from Rohit and Nabibakhsh stopping Ajit on his tracks. 2 minutes to go and this can go anywhere

36' U Mumba 32-31 Gujarat Giants

Ajit Chouhan with a huge super raid! He picks up a bonus as well as two touches on his way back to the midline, barging through a chain and then the defense responded too as Rinku got a big backhold on Guman Singh and U Mumba get into the lead just like that

35' U Mumba 28-31 Gujarat Giants

Guman Singh gets a Super-10! Yet another error in defense, this time from Rinku who gifts a point away to Guman and lets him complete a Super-10

33' U Mumba 27-30 Gujarat Giants

Parvesh Bhainswal gifted a soft point to Gujarat before Rohit was tackled as he looked to get back after picking up a bonus

31' U Mumba 25-28 Gujarat Giants

Gujarat Giants inflict the all-out and have the lead now! A touch point from Guman who tagged Bittu deep in the right corner and then the super-sub Rohit Raghav had a job to do once more but the Giants defense was up to the task this time and tackled him. 

30' U Mumba 24-24 Gujarat Giants

We are all square yet again! Do-or-die raid for HS Rakesh and he had a few attempts to get a touch on Sunil before finally getting it successfully on the Mumba skipper. Super-sub Rohit Raghav was subbed in and he went in and came back with a bonus plus a touch point. This is turning out to be a cliffhanger! U Mumba have 2 men on court and the scores are level with 10 minutes to go, where is this one going?

28' U Mumba 22-23 Gujarat Giants

Neeraj ushers Ajit off the court with a solid block and U Mumba are left with just 2 men on the court! Some turnaround this from the Giants

26' U Mumba 22-22 Gujarat Giants

Gujarat Giants level it up yet again! This keeps going from one way to the other. The Giants defense stepped up and tackled Zafardanesh and Manjeet before it was a do-or-die raid for Guman Singh who picked up Rinku and Parvesh on his way back to the midline, U Mumba are down to 3 men now!

24' U Mumba 22-18 Gujarat Giants

Ajit Chouhan has a Super-10! Just another day out for him as he brings up his raid point number 10 with a running hand touch on the Giants' left corner. Guman Singh was tackled previously after picking up a raid point in his previous raid and U Mumba are slowly starting to move away

22' U Mumba 20-17 Gujarat Giants

U Mumba get the all-out! There were 2 men on court for the Giants when Ajit went in to raid but one of them stepped out of bounds and then it turned into a surrender raid and U Mumba finally get the all out they were after

21' U Mumba 16-16 Gujarat Giants

Giants down to 2 men! Second half starts with an empty raid against a defense of 3 from Zafardanesh and then one from Giants but then Ajit Chouhan gets going with a touch on the left corner

HALF TIME 20' U Mumba 15-16 Gujarat Giants

Gujarat Giants have a solitary point lead at the half time break! The first half ends with a do-or-die for Giants and it was their most successful raider of the day, Rakesh, who went in to raid again but this time it was a combined effort from the defenders of U Mumba who sent him on the bench.

This has been remarkable from the Giants, courtesy one man Rakesh, to have come from being left with one man to taking the lead at the halfway mark. U Mumba were in control and looked like taking a lead but some sloppiness was enough to let the Giants back into this. 

Ajit Chouhan has 7 raid points but the half has belonged to HS Rakesh who has 7 raid points plus 2 tackle points from a super tackle.

This has been a see-saw battle and it has the makings of going down to the wire. Who will hold their nerves and come out victorious?

18' U Mumba 14-16 Gujarat Giants

This is swinging to-and-fro! It was a do-or-die raid for Gujarat and yet again Rakesh stepped up and got two points wiping out both the corners, Rinku and Sombir, for U Mumba who will be ruing the opportunity missed. Zafardanesh brought one back in a do-or-die next and then we are back to playing on the do-or-die with both teams having 4 men on the court

16' U Mumba 13-14 Gujarat Giants

Gujarat Giants have roared back all of a sudden! They were down to a single man in Rakesh and that is when Sunil conceded a soft point and gave away an all-out opportunity. Rakesh was not done yet, he combined with Neeraj in the next raid and got a huge super tackle on Ajit Chouhan and just like that Giants have the lead

14' U Mumba 12-9 Gujarat Giants

Giants are down to 2! Another point for Ajit against a defense of 3 as he picked up Nabibakhsh who was brought in

13' U Mumba 11-8 Gujarat Giants

Gujarat Giants lose their review as Zafardanesh picks up two! A sliding toe touch on the left corner before he got past the attempted dash from Mohit in the right cover and got to the mid-line with his outstretched hand. Gujarat Giants choose to review the call and the end up losing it

12' U Mumba 9-8 Gujarat Giants

Manjeet puts in an empty raid and then it is a do-or-die for Giants. Rakesh goes in and picks up a bonus under the left chain. Ajit Chouhan tries to power through the chain coming in from the right side but gets caught and sent on the bench

10' U Mumba 9-6 Gujarat Giants

Ajit Chouhan is having a day out here, he got a touch point and then in the next raid picked up a bonus and powered his way through Neeraj. There was a touch point for Rakesh in between as well but then Manjeet got a hand touch on Jitender Yadav to get another point. 3-point lead for U Mumba at the first break!

7' U Mumba 5-5 Gujarat Giants

Back level! Manjeet got tackled by Himanshu with a big back hold as he tried to escape and then Guman Singh went in for a do-or-die and returned with a running hand touch on Sombir in the left corner

5' U Mumba 5-3 Gujarat Giants

U Mumba go into the lead! Rakesh lost his balance and ventured into the lobby without a touch and then the first do-or-die raid of the contest came for U Mumba where Manjeet gets a touch on the left corner

4' U Mumba 3-3 Gujarat Giants

Sunil clutches the ankles of Guman! A huge tackle from the U Mumba skipper who was manning the right corner in absence of Rinku and the scores are level after a few empty raids

2' U Mumba 2-3 Gujarat Giants

Strong start for Giants! Guman Singh puts in the first raid of the match and gets a kick on the right corner Rinku and gets us going. Ajit Chouhan then goes in to raid next and returns with a bonus under the right chain

Guman then gets Parvesh as he attempts an unsuccessful block before Ajit gets blocked by Neeraj from the covers after the raider picked up a bonus

Here is a look at the all-important starting 7s of both the teams for tonight's contest:

U Mumba: Sunil Kumar (C), Rinku, Parvesh Bhainswal, Sombir, Manjeet, Amirmohammad Zafardanesh, Ajit Chouhan
Gujarat Giants:  Guman Singh (C), Mohit, Sombir, Neeraj Kumar, Jitender Yadav, Rakesh, Himanshu Singh

Unsurprisingly, no changes in the U Mumba lineup while Gujarat Giants have bolstered their raiding and have included Himanshu Singh who got a super-10 as a sub in their last game instead of Iranian all-rounder Mohammad Nabibakhsh. 

Hello and good evening from Sourabh as I welcome you to Sportskeeda's continued live coverage of PKL 11. The Super Sunday continues and we are moving to match number 100 of the season, it is time for U Mumba vs Gujarat Giants at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune

Both these teams have had contrasting seasons so far. While U Mumba are placed on number 4 in the points table with 9 wins and 2 ties out of the 16 matches played, Gujarat Giants occupy the penultimate position of number 11 having won just the 4 matches out of the 16 played to go with 10 losses in a season that has never got going for them.

U Mumba are coming into this contest after playing out a cagey affair against the Pink Panthers where the defenders ruled the roost and the scores ended at 22 apiece. Left-corner Sombir had a monster game for them with 7 tackle points and he will be a man to watch out here tonight along with Ajit Chouhan who is the fifth-best in the season as far as the raid points are concerned with 129 raid points in 16 outings.

For the Giants, it was a dismal outing against Tamil Thalaivas who brushed them aside and handed them a 13-point loss with the scoreboard reading 27-40. The Giants' entire team, except Rakesh, was subbed out at one point or the other in that match and that was a sign of how there season has been. They have not been able to settle in on a regular starting-7 as yet and that shows in their position in the points table. Substitute raider Himanshu Singh got a Super-10 to his name and he should start for them today.

U Mumba have a brilliant opportunity to break into the Top-2 should they get past an underconfident Giants' unit. But, as you know, PKL is never shy of throwing up surprises. Whatever might be the case, we've got you covered. Let's get going!