In a see-saw battle in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat Fortune Giants came up short against Patna Pirates at Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex on Saturday. More GB, who replaced Vinod in the starting seven produced an outstanding all-round performance, picking up 15 points on the night.
Our Mr.Consistent, Rohit Gulia got a bonus point in the very first raid, before Ruturaj sent Pardeep Narwal to the bench with a double ankle hold.
We took a 4-1 lead after successful raids from Rohit Gulia and Sonu Jaglan, but Pardeep Narwal took four raid points in quick succession to give the Pirates a two-point lead at 9-7.
With Patna Pirates turning on the pressure, More GB rescued us with a stunning Super Tackle followed by multiple raid points in the second quarter.
After Pardeep Narwal took down Parvesh, we were reduced to three defenders on the mat, but More GB once again pulled off a Super Tackle on Pardeep to give us a four-point lead at 18-14.
Rohit Gulia got a running hand touch on Jang Kun Lee at the stroke of half-time, as we went into the break leading 19-14.
The Giants put pressure on the Pirates early on, and four minutes into the second half, we enforced an All-Out to take a lead of 25-14.
The contest looked one-sided, until Pardeep Narwal returned the favour with five quick raid points. The Pirates inflicted our All-Out in the 30th minute and reduced the deficit to just one point at 25-24.
It turned out to be a cagey affair in the final quarter with both teams on top of their game. We were in the lead until the 35th minute, before Mohammed Esmaeil’s two point-raid and Jaideep’s tackle on Rohit Gulia changed the course of the game.
More GB kept us in the contest and picked up his Super 10 after taking down Neeraj Kumar in the 37th minute.
With the tension running high, the Pirates tackled the dangerous More GB in the dying moments to gain the upper hand in the contest.
Pardeep Narwal got the better of the Ruturaj challenge, and in the buzzer raid, Sonu Jaglan was tackled by the Patna defence.
Full Time: Gujarat Fortune Giants 33-39 Patna Pirates
What’s next
The Giants will face Telugu Titans in our final encounter of VIVO Pro Kabaddi League Season 7 at Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida on 7th October.
