Hyderabad: The UP Yoddhas fought hard against a determined Gujarat Giants and registered an important win at the GMCB Indoor Stadium in Gachibowli, here in PKL Season 11.
The UP Yoddhas won with a scoreline of 35-29 on Sunday night.
For the UP Yoddhas, Bharat finished with 13 points and Bhavani Rajput added 9 to the cause, while Rakesh stood out for the Gujarat Giants with 8 points to his name.
The Gujarat Giants made a strong start to the game with the likes of Guman Singh and Sombir, doing well in attack and defence.
The UP Yoddhas, who were caught on the backfoot initially, started to fight back after conceding the lead in the initial minutes.
For the UP Yoddhas, it was Bhavani Rajput, who was leading the charge in the early parts of the contest.
Midway through the first half, the Gujarat Giants landed a Super Tackle through Jitender Yadav, but moments later, the UP Yoddhas got their noses out in front, picking up a 2-point lead.
The Gujarat Giants clawed their way back into the contest and wiped out the deficit, but with minutes to go in the first half, Mahender Singh’s tackle on the Rakesh resulted in an ALL OUT, which put the UP Yoddhas back in the box seat.
At the half-time break, the UP Yoddhas went into the break with the score reading 19-17 in their favour.
After the break, the UP Yoddhas had their eyes on keeping their lead intact. Meanwhile, the Gujarat Giants were trying their best to upset the opposition and wrestle back the momentum.
For Gujarat Giants, it was Rakesh who was leading the charge yet again with the skipper Neeraj Kumar and Guman Singh providing ample support.
However, as the contest reached the 30-minute mark, the UP Yoddhas had registered a 5-point lead and had some breathing space.
In the final phase of the game, the two teams cranked up the intensity, especially the Gujarat Giants, who fought back to level things at 26-26.
However, the UP Yoddhas had just about enough in the tank and sprinted across the finish line, eventually winning the contest by a 6-point margin.
