Want to build momentum: Gujarat Giants assistant coach urges team to find consistency

After an ordinary start to the season, Gujarat Giants have found some momentum in PKL 12, winning four of their last five matches. The team registered a convincing 42-35 win against Tamil Thalaivas at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium on Wednesday, moving to seventh place on the points table as a result.

Reflecting on his team’s performance, Gujarat Giants assistant coach, Virender Singh, at the post-match press conference shared, “Our defenders played their part and Himanshu played his role brilliantly as a raider, scoring points for us regularly. We had a healthy lead and we let them back in the game slightly. We’ll address that. However, the most important thing for us was to get the win.”

Sharing an insight into his team’s turnaround this season, the assistant coach credited their marquee player – Mohammadreza Shadloui’s performance in recent matches. He said, “We haven’t changed our tactics too much compared to the previous games. The key for us has been our players returning to form.”

“Shadloui has been performing well and that’s given the rest of the team the confidence and the belief to get over the line. Our defence has been consistent and the raiders have also stepped up to help us register wins. Everyone’s playing together and getting the result for the team. So, we want to build on this momentum”

Gujarat Giants will be hoping to carry on their winning momentum in the upcoming matches. Their next challenge, however, will be against a Telugu Titans side that have been in fine form.

Looking forward to the next game, Virender Singh reckoned, “Telugu Titans have been doing really well. They’re in the top four already. They have a solid squad with players like Vijay Malik and Bharat Hooda in the raiding department, and defenders like Shubham Shinde and Ankit Jaglan. So, we’ll plan for them accordingly. We lost against them last time out, so we will be looking for revenge.”

Sharing his honest opinion on his team’s chances for the playoff spot, Virender Singh concluded, “Only two teams have confirmed their playoffs spot yet. The rest are still in the battle to confirm their place. So, the team that does well will make it through to the playoffs eventually.”

Please find below, the previews for the PKL Season 12 matches on Thursday, October 16:

With three wins on the trot, Bengaluru Bulls will be expected to carry on their winning spree when they take on a Patna Pirates team that hasn’t quite been able to kickstart their campaign this season. Ayan Lohchab and Mandeep Kumar have shown that they have the potential to upset the cart for any team, they will be up for a tough test against the likes of Yogesh Dahiya, Alireza Mirzaian and Deepak Sankar.

Fresh off their tie-breaker loss last night, the Telugu Titans will want to get back to winning ways against U Mumba, who lost their opening game in Delhi. The reverse fixture saw the Titan’s prevail courtesy Bharat’s Super 10, and Vijay Malik will hope that his all-rounder can prove to be the difference once more. However, U Mumba will have both Ajit Chouhan and Sandeep Kumar fit and firing this time around, ready for revenge in this mouth-watering encounter.

UP Yoddhas have seemingly found some momentum after winning their last two matches with the likes of Gagan Gowda and Guman Singh contributing for them heavily. They’ll be up against a spirited Haryana Steelers side that snapped its five-match losing streak and will be eager to build on that with the top four place still in their sights.

Tickets are available on District by Zomato, the official ticketing platform for PKL Season 12: https://www.district.in/events/pkl-2025-delhi-team

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The Pro Kabaddi League Season 12 is being broadcast live on the Star Sports Network and streamed on JioHotstar from 7:30 pm onwards.