Pardeep Kumar’s two-point raid in the final minute of the match helped Gujarat Giants beat Bengaluru Bulls 40-36 in Pro Kabaddi Season 8 at the Sheraton Grand, Whitefield in Bengaluru on Sunday. The win helped Gujarat stay in the race for the playoffs.

In-from raider Pardeep Kumar scored 14 raid points for Gujarat Giants and was well supported by Ajay Kumar, who ended with eight raid points in the match. In the defence, captain Sunil Kumar registered a high 5.

For Bengaluru Bulls, Pawan Sehrawat scored 12 raid points while Aman returned with three tackle points.

Gujarat Giants were comfortably positioned at 30-25 with under three minutes of play remaining. However, Bengaluru Bulls’ Bharat managed to bring parity by scoring quick raid points to inflict an all out on Gujarat and level scores at 35-35 with under a minute remaining in the match.

Pardeep Kumar then scored a crucial two-point raid in the dying moments to swing the game in favour of Gujarat. He scored two more points in his final raid as Gujarat sealed the game with a four-point win.

Earlier, Bengaluru Bulls started the match in fine style with Pawan Sehrawat scoring points off successive raids to eventually reduce Gujarat to three men within the first five minutes of play. However, Gujarat’s defence, led by Sunil Kumar, managed to pin down Pawan in a super tackle to claw their way back into the match.

Pardeep Kumar then scored a brilliant super raid in the dying moments of the first half as Gujarat Giants managed to gain a narrow one-point advantage to lead 15-14 going into halftime.

In the second half, both sides exchanged blows in do-or-die raids as the momentum kept shifting from one team to the other before a calm and calculated approach from Pardeep Kumar in the final few minutes helped the Giants seal the match.

The win took Gujarat two places to the ninth spot in the PKL standings with 43 points in 16 outings. Meanwhile, Bengaluru Bulls, with 55 points from 19 outings, are in third place. Each team will play 22 matches this season before the top-six advance to the PKL playoffs.

Gujarat Giants will be up against Jaipur Pink Panthers on Monday.