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The 5th edition of Vivo Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) is the biggest ever with the competition extended to 12 teams – four more than the previous editions. The success of the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup in Ahmedabad prompted the Adani Group to bid for the Gujarat franchise ahead of the 2017 PKL.
History
The team made even before the auction when they roped in, arguably, the best defender in the world, Iranian Fazel Atrachali. They continued to strengthen the team by buying former Telugu Titans raider Sukesh Hegde and shortly after, announced him as the captain.
Their raiding department was bolstered with the signings of Amit Rathi, Mahendra Rajput, and Pawan Sehrawat while Vikas Kale, Abozar Mighani, Amit, among others were signed to provide support to Fazel.
Gujarat Fortunegiants brought in winning mentality by giving Patna Pirates’ Season 3 title winning captain Manpreet Singh his first coaching stint.
The journey in Season 5 so far
Just like the off-season, Gujarat Fortunegiants made a splash the moment the league started. Playing their opening match against veteran team Dabang Delhi, they lit up the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad.
Fazel provided a solid platform for the raiders to wreak havoc in the opposition half by scoring four tackle points. Sukesh Hegde, Rakesh Narwal and Sachin scored three raid points each while Abozar conjured two tackle points to showcase a complete team performance, which saw them beat the Dabangs 26-20 courtesy two all outs.
Also read: Gujarat Fortune Giants owners: All you need to know about them
The very next day, the Fortunegiants went up against the Surender Nada-led Haryana Steelers, another new outfit. In a match that swung like a pendulum, both teams shared the points, courtesy a 27-27 draw.
It was a match where Gujarat flexed their bench strength as Mahendra Singh Rajput came off the bench to top score for his team. The former Bengal Warriors raider went in for eight raids and scored five points at an astonishing success rate of 62.5%. His final point was the most crucial of the lot as he bamboozled the duo of Nada and Mohit Chhillar in the dying seconds to salvage a draw for his team.
Haryana got their revenge in Nagpur six days later by inflicting a heavy 32-20 loss on Sukesh Hegde’s team. The two corners for the Steelers worked in tandem to ensure Gujarat’s unbeaten run came to an end before their home leg. It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Gujarat in the third match, though. The loss to Haryana was the match when 18-year-old Sachin announced himself to the world.
Playing in his first tournament, the raider put in an all-round performance to emerge as the top scorer with eight points, three of them coming in unchartered territory – defence. He made his mark in the game as early as the 7th minute, when he pulled off a splendid super tackle on Vikas Kandola right after returning from a successful raid.
The road ahead
Gujarat Fortunegiants can be pleased with their start to the tournament, having mustered eight points to sit just one point adrift of the playoff spots in Zone A. As the Pro Kabaddi caravan moves on to Ahmedabad for the next leg of PKL, Manpreet Singh’s men will be looking for the home support to help propel themselves to the top of the table.
They begin their home campaign with a tie against Season 2 winners U Mumba, knowing that a win can take them above Anup Kumar’s men. Their second home match could see them complete the double over the team they started their campaign against – Dabang Delhi, while Manjeet Chhillar’s Jaipur Pink Panthers will pose Gujarat a stern test on 13th August.
After a day’s rest, Gujarat Fortunegiants will host the first ever ‘Inter Zone Challenge Week’, where teams from Zone A will face Zone B. The hosts’ defenders will need to be on their toes as their final three matches at home come against teams that are well stocked in the raiding department. Rohit Kumar’s Bengaluru Bulls will be aiming to restart their Pro Kabaddi campaign vs the Fortunegiants on Independence Day after a poor home leg.
Gujarat’s penultimate home game will see Pro Kabaddi League’s top scorer Rahul Chaudhari leading the Telugu Titans before Bengal Warriors’ Jang Kun Lee and Maninder Singh test themselves against the Iranian duo of Fazel and Mighani.
The home leg provides Gujarat Fortunegiants with an opportunity to cement their place in the top three of Zone A. The team, however, will need to forget the defeat to Haryana Steelers fast as they will be playing six matches at home in as many days.
Gujarat’s home ground – The Arena, Ahmedabad – was the venue where India lifted the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup and Manpreet Singh will be eager to make sure that this venue is where Gujarat Fortunegiants lay the foundation to win the 2017 Pro Kabaddi League as well.
