Gujarat Fortune Giants were defeated by U.P. Yoddha 33-26 at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium in Kolkata on Monday. Sachin Tanwar was remarkable in the second half, as he picked up a Super 10, while Sunil Kumar claimed his fourth High 5 of Season 7.
Both defences were on song in the opening exchanges, which made it difficult for the raiders to pick up points and only take risks in do-or-die raids. Sachin Tanwar was tackled by Sumit in his first raid and a couple of empty raids followed suit, before Sonu Jaglan took out Ashu Singh.
Sachin dragged Sumit and Rishank Devadiga to the centre line to give us a 5-3 lead, but Shrikant Jadav returned the favour in the following raid by taking out Sunil and Parvesh.
It was neck and neck until the 15th minute, but U.P. Yoddha quickly gained momentum when Surender Gill tackled Rohit Gulia, before the raider got Sunil Kumar in the do-or-die raid. The Yoddhas enforced the all-out at the stroke of half-time, after More GB was tackled by Nitish Kumar.
Rishank Devadiga added two more points in the last raid of the first half, as we went into the break trailing 9-16.
The Yoddha’s attack started to grow in confidence and continued to put pressure on our defence. However, we witnessed a moment of magic in the 24th minute, when the brothers Sunil Kumar and Sumit Malik came up with an impeccable Super Tackle to pin down Shrikant Jadhav.
The Super Tackle was a sight for sore eyes but Surender Gill got both of them in the 27th minute to not only inflict our second All-Out, but to give the Yoddhas an unassailable lead of 24-12.
With Sumit and Nitish Kumar dominating proceedings, Sachin Tanwar went on a rampage, taking a four-point Super Raid, much to the delight of the bench. Sunil Kumar tackled Surender Gill in a flash before Sachin Tanwar got the Yoddha’s lone man on the mat to inflict their first All-Out.
We witnessed an incredible turnaround by the Giants in the span of 4 minutes, as the 12-point gap was reduced to just 4 points.
Despite the fightback, the Yoddhas soaked up the pressure well and got three quick points to turn the momentum in their favour once again. Sachin Tanwar got a two-point raid and clinched his first Super 10 of Season 7, but he was tackled by Ashu Singh in the following raid.
With the scoreline reading 31-23 in favour of the Yoddhas, the Giants Super Tackled Surender Gill, but there was no support in the attack, which left Sunil Kumar with no option, but take empty raids in the last few minutes.
Sunil ran away from Sumit’s challenge in the final play of the match and that helped us walk away with a point from this game.
Full time: U.P Yoddha 33-26 Gujarat Fortune Giants
Perfect raider of the match: Sachin Tanwar
The Pro Kabaddi action shifts to Pune from 14th September and the Giants will face the home team Puneri Paltan at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapathi Sports Complex on Saturday.
