Gujarat Giants face Bengaluru Bulls in Match 45 of PKL Season 12, with both teams looking to establish consistency in their campaigns. While the Giants sit at the bottom of the table, desperately seeking wins, the Bulls are coming off their first defeat after a promising four-match winning streak. This encounter promises to be a battle between contrasting fortunes and tactical approaches.

Probable Starting 7

Gujarat Giants

  • Right Corner – Lucky Sharma
  • Right In – Parteek Dahiya
  • Right Cover – Nitin Panwar
  • Centre – Rakesh
  • Left Cover – Shubham Kumar
  • Left In – Aryavardhan Navale
  • Left Corner – Mohammadreza Shadloui (C)

Bengaluru Bulls

  • Right Corner – Yogesh (C)
  • Right In – Ganesha H
  • Right Cover – Sanjay
  • Centre – Jitender Yadav
  • Left Cover – Satyappa Matti
  • Left In – Alireza Mirzaian
  • Left Corner – Deepak Sankar

Headlines

➢ Can the Showstopper Shadloui turn his season around?

➢ Bengaluru Bulls have found their new star – Alireza Mirzaian

➢ Gujarat Giants need to be a better team

➢ Rakesh needs support in raiding, Nitin Panwar needs assistance in defence

➢ Bulls with a strong defensive unit

➢ Yogesh to bounce back after his first defeat as captain

➢ Giants to bank on the history between these two teams, Bulls looking for retribution

Top Stories of the Match

Can the Showstopper Shadloui Turn His Season Around?

Showstopper Shadloui is currently having the worst start to any of his seasons in terms of points – 6 matches, 6 raid points, 8 tackle points. He is yet to score a High 5 in PKL 12, making him the only player on the Giants team without one, while Nitin Panwar has managed to achieve this milestone.

His struggle is evident in his tackle statistics, with just 9 assists and 18 failed tackle attempts indicating how poor his form has been.

Shadloui Since PKL 10:

Season

Tackle Pts

Avg Tackle Pts

Tackle SR%

PKL 12

8

1.3

31%

PKL 11

82

3.4

54%

PKL 10

99

4.1

60%

Shadloui is coming off two back-to-back championship wins – PKL 10 with Puneri Paltan and PKL 11 with Haryana Steelers. His achievements speak for themselves:

Showstopper Shadloui Achievements in PKL:

  • Champion: PKL 10, PKL 11
  • MVP: PKL 11
  • Best Defender: PKL 8 & PKL 10
  • Most Expensive Buy in Auction: PKL 12
  • Most Tackle Points in a Single Match: 16 points vs Dabang Delhi in PKL 9

In PKL 11, Shadloui had a remarkable streak where he scored raid and tackle points in more than 10 consecutive matches. He will be hoping to rediscover that form.

Gujarat finally tasted victory against Tamil Thalaivas courtesy of an all-round team performance, with Shadloui contributing to both raiding and defence – their only win in the first six matches.

Shadloui in M#18 vs Tamil Thalaivas:

  • Raids: 9
  • Raid Points: 5
  • Tackle Points: 1
  • Assists: 1

He has historically performed well against Bengaluru Bulls, averaging 4 tackle points per match against them.

Bengaluru Bulls Raiding Has Found Their New Lead Raider – Alireza Mirzaian

Alireza Mirzaian has been a revelation for the Bengaluru Bulls. He has taken responsibility and repaid the faith of the coach and management, delivering consistently across matches.

In the last 5 matches, he has 4 Super 10s and has consistently maintained a good Raid SR%.

Alireza Raid Points in the Last 5 Matches:

Match

Opponent

Raid Points

Raid SR%

M#36

Tamil Thalaivas

10

56%

M#34

Telugu Titans

11

55%

M#29

Jaipur Pink Panthers

8

36%

M#21

Haryana Steelers

12

67%

M#17

Patna Pirates

10

56%

Alireza has excelled in do-or-die situations and ranks third in most do-or-die raid points in PKL 12.

Most Do-or-Die Raid Points in PKL 12:

Player

Matches

DoD Raid Pts

Raid SR%

Ashu Malik

7

15

125%

Aditya Shinde

7

13

77%

Alireza Mirzaian

8

12

75%

Alireza performs consistently throughout the game, except in the first 10 minutes when he takes time to get into rhythm.

Alireza Raiding in PKL 12 by Intervals:

Intervals (Mins)

Raid Points

Raid SR%

1-10

10

42%

11-20

18

56%

21-30

22

58%

31-40

20

57%

Both he and Aashish Malik have been putting in outstanding performances for the Bulls throughout the season, with Ganesha providing crucial support – including the match-winning super raid against Telugu Titans.

Team Stories

Gujarat Giants – PKL 12 So Far

PKL 12 Summary [Last 5 Matches]:

Match

Opponent

Score

Result

M#33

Haryana Steelers

37-40

Lost by 3 points

M#28

Dabang Delhi

28-38

Lost by 10 points

M#24

Jaipur Pink Panthers

30(5)-30(5)

Lost in Golden Raid (1-0)

M#18

Tamil Thalaivas

37-28

Won by 9 points

M#8

Puneri Paltan

19-41

Lost by 22 points

Gujarat Giants have endured a nightmare start to the season with five defeats in their first six games, sitting at the bottom of the table. They have been unlucky to lose two games in tiebreakers, but their recent defeat to Haryana Steelers showed their ongoing struggles.

Gujarat Giants Need to Be a Better Team

Gujarat Giants have managed just 2 Super 10s from all their raiders in the first 6 matches of PKL 12, despite multiple raiders getting opportunities. They average the lowest raid points per game among all teams in the league this season and are the only team with a raid SR% below 45%.

Lowest Average Raid Points in PKL 12:

Team

Matches

Avg Raid Pts

Raid SR%

Gujarat Giants

6

18.0

41%

Bengaluru Bulls

8

19.1

47%

Puneri Paltan

9

19.8

49%

Rakesh has been their only consistent raider, scoring 2 Super 10s, but even he averages only 8.2 raid points per game – insufficient for a lead raider.

Parteek Dahiya showed promise against Dabang Delhi, almost achieving a Super 10 with 9 raid points at a 90% success rate, giving the Giants hope for improved raiding depth.

Their defence has shown flashes of brilliance but lacks consistency, performing well in one match only to struggle in the next.

Nitin Panwar stands out as their defensive anchor, averaging 2.8 tackle points per match with an outstanding 71% tackle success rate – the best among defenders with 10+ tackle points in PKL 12. He has also achieved 4 super tackles, joint-highest in the league.

Bengaluru Bulls – PKL 12 So Far

PKL 12 Summary [Last 5 Matches]:

Match

Opponent

Score

Result

M#36

Tamil Thalaivas

29-35

Lost by 6 points

M#34

Telugu Titans

34-32

Won by 2 points

M#29

Jaipur Pink Panthers

28-23

Won by 5 points

M#21

Haryana Steelers

40-33

Won by 7 points

M#17

Patna Pirates

38-30

Won by 8 points

Bengaluru Bulls have had a mixed start with four wins and four defeats in eight matches. After losing their first three games, they made crucial changes including appointing Yogesh as captain, leading to four consecutive wins before their recent defeat to Tamil Thalaivas.

Bulls with a Strong Defensive Unit

Bengaluru Bulls boast one of the better defensive units in PKL 12, averaging 10.0 tackle points per match with a 41% success rate.

Their defence performance in wins vs losses:

Stats

Wins

Losses

Tackle Points

47

33

Avg Tackle Points

11.8

8.3

Tackle SR%

48%

34%

Assists

55

40

Yogesh has embraced the captaincy role well, orchestrating 4 wins in 5 matches as captain, with 19 tackle points and 1 High 5.

Deepak Sankar has filled Ankush's shoes admirably, contributing 20 tackle points in 7 matches with an impressive 56% tackle success rate and 2 High 5s.

The cover defenders Sanjay and Satyappa Matti provide crucial support, with Sanjay contributing 17 assists in 8 games and Satyappa adding 24 assists in 6 games.

Head-to-Head in PKL

Overall: Matches – 15 | Gujarat Giants – 8 | Bengaluru Bulls – 5 | Tied – 2

Gujarat Giants have dominated this matchup since its inception in PKL 5. The last time Bulls beat Giants was in PKL 9.

Last 5 Match Results:

Match

Gujarat Giants

Bengaluru Bulls

Result

M#89 PKL 11

34

34

Match Tied

M#6 PKL 11

36

32

Giants Won by 4

M#116 PKL 10

50

28

Giants Won by 22

M#4 PKL 10

34

31

Giants Won by 3

M#86 PKL 9

38

45

Bulls Won by 7

Key Player Battles

Bengaluru Bulls' Raiders vs Gujarat Giants' Defenders

  • Akash Shinde 5–4 Shadloui
  • Akash Shinde 2–0 Shubham Kumar

Gujarat Giants' Raiders vs Bengaluru Bulls' Defenders

  • Parteek Dahiya 1–2 Sanjay
  • Parteek Dahiya 5–5 Yogesh

What to Expect

This match presents contrasting narratives – Gujarat Giants desperately seeking consistency and their second win of the season, while Bengaluru Bulls aim to bounce back from their first defeat in five matches under Yogesh's captaincy.

The battle between Alireza Mirzaian's raiding prowess and Nitin Panwar's defensive excellence could be decisive. Meanwhile, all eyes will be on whether Shadloui can rediscover his championship form against a Bulls defence that has shown significant improvement.

Expect Gujarat Giants to rely heavily on their historical advantage in this fixture, while Bulls will be determined to break their recent drought against this opponent.

Match Details

  • Match: Gujarat Giants vs Bengaluru Bulls – Match 45, PKL Season 12
  • Date: Monday, 22nd September 2025
  • Time: 7:30 PM
  • Venue: SMS Indoor Stadium, Jaipur
  • Live Streaming: Watch LIVE on Star Sports Network and JioHotstar. For live scores and updates, visit prokabaddi.com or download the Pro Kabaddi Official App.

Follow Pro Kabaddi on Instagram, Facebook, X & YouTube for all the latest updates!

Related tags:

BenGujarat FortunegiantsPro Kabaddi League Season 12, 2025 FeaturesNewsMatch PreviewsEnglish