In the first match of the Bengaluru leg, Gujarat Fortune Giants will square off against Bengaluru Bulls at Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium on Saturday. With 4 wins in their 11 matches, the Giants are currently placed 8th in the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League table.
They can’t afford any more slip ups from here on, as it would definitely hamper their chances of reaching the play-offs for a third consecutive season.
After a moral-boosting 3-point win against Patna Pirates, everyone expected a strong show from our Giants against Haryana Steelers, but instead we endured one of our most disappointing outcomes of the season.
We need to go back to the drawing board and iron out the flaws before our much-anticipated contest against the Bulls. A huge positive heading into this match is that the Giants decimated the power-packed Bengaluru side in the opening encounter of Season 7.
From Sunil Kumar’s mighty tackles to More GB’s all-round brilliance, a combined team effort was pivotal to overpower the Bulls by a huge margin. A similar performance is mandatory if the Giants want to get the better of Rohit Kumar & co on Saturday.
Despite our defence being our backbone in Season 7, we are yet to see a fiery performance from our top defender Parvesh Bhainswal. Sunil Kumar had a forgettable day against the Steelers with just a solitary tackle point. We now, more than ever need our lethal duo of Sunil and Parvesh to shine if we are going to tackle the challenges of Bengaluru’s dangerous attacking unit.
In the raiding department, Rohit Gulia has been our star performer with 59 raid points in 11 matches. However, the lack of a supporting raider has been a big concern, as the tried and tested Vinod and youngster Sonu Jaglan are yet to prove their prowess on a consistent basis.
Considering Abolfazel’s canny raids posed some problems for the Steelers in the first quarter, he could once again be preferred by Manpreet against the Bulls.
If Sachin Tanwar is deemed fit for the contest, it would be an excellent news for the Giants as the raider has a great record against the Bulls.
Key Giant
Ruturaj Koravi
There is no denying that Ruturaj was regarded as one of the bright prospects to look out for before the start of Season 7, but Manpreet picked Ankit in the right corner in the first few matches. After Ankit failed to deliver consistently, Ruturaj has been selected and even though he is yet to justify the faith of the coach, he has been in Manpreet’s go-to man in the last few matches with great defensive performances.
All eyes will be on Ruturaj, and it will be interesting to see his tactics against the leading raider of Season 7, Pawan Sehrawat.
Head-To-Head
There is nothing to separate the sides, as the head-to-head stands 2-2, while a thrilling match in Ahmedabad ended in a tie. Bengaluru have established themselves as one of the title contenders in Season 7, and a victory against them in front of their home fans would definitely be a confidence booster for us.
Predicted Line-up
Parvesh Bhainswal, Pankaj, Rohit Gulia, Sunil Kumar (C), Ruturaj Koravi, Abolfazl, More GB
