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After the Monday break, match no. 40 in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 will feature the Gujarat Fortunegiants taking the battle across to the Puneri Paltan at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium in Lucknow.
The Gujarat Fortunegiants will be playing their first match after their fantastic home leg wherein they were unbeaten, recording 5 wins on the row and a draw in the last match against the Bengal Warriors. The Puneri Paltan have also started the fifth season on a very strong note, notching up 4 wins in their five matches so far, with the last one coming against the Patna Pirates on Sunday evening.
LIVE COMMENTARY: Gujarat Fortunegiants vs Puneri Paltan, 22 August 2017
The Gujarat Fortunegiants will bank on their young players particularly Sachin to continue his golden run and go rampant on the mat while raiding much like he did throughout the entire course of the Ahmedabad leg, thus ensuring that the scoreboard keeps ticking in his team's favour. His form will take a lot of pressure of skipper Sukesh Hegde's shoulders, who can freely play his natural game.
The Iranian defensive duo manning either corner on the mat, Fazel Atrachali and Abozar Mighani have also been quite impressive, putting up a formidable show that has not been easy to penetrate. Amongst the others, cover defenders Sunil and Parvesh Bhainswal will look to work in tandem to inflict the key tackles while it will Rohit Gulia, another youngster who will assist the attack.
Puneri Paltan, on the other hand, will be high on confidence post their win against the Patna Pirates where they managed to get past the Pardeep Narwal onslaught. Pune relies on an all-round display with each of their players contributing to the scoreline in some manner or the other.
The defence is the stronghold for Pune, which is manned by the experienced campaigner Dharmaraj Cheralathan alongside Girish Ernak and Bangladesh's Ziaur Rehman who notched up a High-5 in the last match with his stellar tackles.
The all-rounders in the likes of Sandeep Narwal and Deepak Hooda give the added edge to the team with their ability to perform in the defence as well as the attack. Rajesh Mondal is the key figure who thrives in the do-or-die situations and young gun Monu was also quite impressive in the match against Patna Pirates.
Gujarat Fortunegiants vs Puneri Paltan match prediction
It will surely be an encounter that will go down the wire with both teams in brilliant form in the recent matches. If Puneri Paltan can manage to relegate Sachin to the bench for an increased amount of time, the team can surely slow down the momentum of the team and embark on a lead of sorts.
The Fortunegiants will have to replicate the same by managing to keep Deepak Hooda and Sandeep Narwal out of the equation. Thus, this match is quite a difficult one to call and could well end up in a draw.
