Gujarat Giants continued their impressive form as they defeated Haryana Steelers 42-38 in an enthralling Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 9 match at the Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, October 22.

Star raider Rakesh stole the limelight for the Giants as he scored 18 points including registering 17 tackle points and one bonus point. Rakesh was also supported by captain Chandran Ranjit and defender Sourav Gulia, who contributed with five points each.

With their second consecutive victory in PKL 9, the Ram Mehar Singh-coached Giants jumped to fourth in the standings with 19 points from six matches.

Meanwhile, the Steelers had the better start on the night, with the raiders and the defensive unit working in tandem, especially with Amirhossein Bastami causing some serious problems early on. However, the Giants edged ahead through Rakesh's raids before Jaideep and Mohit brought the Steelers back in the match, in what was turning out to be a close game. However, Rakesh inflicted an All Out on the Steelers to help the Giants surge ahead.

Meetu, Jaideep and Manjeet pulled up their socks in the final minutes of the first half, as the Steelers roared back and ended the half with a six-point lead at 22-16.

Led by influential captain Chandran Ranjit, the Giants started off the second half quite strongly and had the momentum going their way. The Steelers found it a tad bit tougher to stop their opponents as Sourav Gulia and Rakesh were on song for Gujarat.

The Giants continued to score points as Rakesh went on to pick up another 15-point haul to help the Giants lead the Steelers by four points in the 35th minute.

The Giants continued to build on their lead and even as the Steelers gave it their all, Gujarat held on and picked up an important win.

Having put in another disappointing performance, the Steelers succumbed to their fourth consecutive defeat in the ongoing Pro Kabaddi season as they dropped to ninth in the standings with 13 points from six matches.

Gujarat Giants will look to continue their winning streak when they face U Mumba at the Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, October 26. The match will start at 7:30 PM IST.

Featured photo: Pro Kabaddi