Pune, Dec 8 (NationPress) The 100th match of PKL 11 showcased the intensity of the season as the Gujarat Giants narrowly defeated the U Mumba 34-33 at the Badminton Hall in Balewadi Stadium on Sunday.

While Guman Singh scored a Super 10 and Rakesh added an impressive 10 points – including two Tackle Points – it was defender Rohit’s High 5, particularly his tackles in the final two minutes, that secured a remarkable victory for the Gujarat Giants. For U Mumba, Ajit Chouhan's 14 points went in vain.

Both teams started strong, exchanging leads frequently in the first half. Guman Singh made an impressive start for the Gujarat Giants, successfully eliminating Rinku and Parvesh Bhainswal in consecutive moves, while Ajit Chouhan earned an early bonus point for U Mumba. Subsequently, U Mumba found their rhythm, as skipper Sunil Kumar pinned down Guman Singh to equalize the score at 3-3.

Manjeet then made his impact felt, scoring a critical point in a left corner raid that sent Jitender Yadav out, granting his team a slight advantage. As the first half progressed, Ajit Chouhan scored three consecutive points, but it was Amirmohammad Zafardanesh who stood out as a key player for U Mumba.

This ignited the Gujarat Giants into action as Rakesh capitalized on a mistake from Sunil Kumar, and then secured a Super Tackle to prevent an All Out situation. This allowed his team to lead narrowly, with the score reading 15-16 in favor of the Gujarat Giants at halftime.

The All Out was ultimately inflicted on the Gujarat Giants by U Mumba just two minutes into the second half. Three of these points came from Ajit Chouhan, who took down Himanshu Jaglan and Himanshu Singh. The young raider from Pune completed his Super 10 with a successful raid on Rohit, allowing U Mumba to take a slight lead.

However, once again, the Gujarat Giants fought back into the game. Guman Singh led the charge, taking down Rinku and Parvesh Bhainswal in a Do-or-Die raid and putting pressure on U Mumba. With an All Out looming on U Mumba, Rohit Raghav came through with an impressive raid to take down Mohit, narrowing the score to 24-25 as they entered the final quarter.

Rohit Raghav could not replicate a similar raid in the final 10 minutes as U Mumba faced a second All Out. Nevertheless, Ajit Chouhan prevented the Gujarat Giants from pulling away with a crucial Super Raid that eliminated Neeraj Kumar and Mohit.

With the match on the line, Gujarat Giants’ Rohit executed an essential tackle to take down Ajit Chouhan, ensuring just a point separated the two teams with 90 seconds remaining. With the score at 33-33, Manjeet was tasked with the final raid – a Do-or-Die raid – but the last word belonged to the Gujarat Giants as Rohit's ankle hold gave them a one-point lead and the victory.