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The second match on the first day of Patna leg was between Gujarat Fortune Giants and Tamil Thalaivas. This match was surely going to be interesting because both the teams are equally strong.
While Gujarat Fortune Giants are the finalists from the last season, Tamil Thalaivas were looking to peak just at the right time after beating a well-rounded Puneri Paltan outfit in their own backyard.
Starting 7:
Gujarat Fortune Giants – Sachin, Ajay Kumar, Mahendra Rajput, Parvesh Bhainswal, Ruturaj Koravi, Sunil Kumar, and Sachin Vittala.
Tamil Thalaivas – Ajay Thakur, Sukesh Hegde, Jasvir Singh, Amit Hooda, Manjeet Chhillar, Sunil, and Darshan J.
Gujarat Fortune Giants did not use any of its substitutes in the entire match as they always looked in control of the situation. Tamil Thalaivas got Surjeet Singh and Athul MS from their pool to play in the court during this match.
This match is one of its kind because Gujarat Fortune Giants is a team of relatively young players and Tamil Thalaivas has a rather experienced lineup.
Also, Jasvir Singh was pulled in the starting 7 of Tamil Thalaivas after looking at his all-round performance against Puneri Paltan in the last game. Needless to say, Gujarat Fortune Giants had a lot to tackle against Ajay Thakur’s Thalaivas.
The match started with Ajay Thakur, the Captain of Tamil Thalaivas, winning the toss and choosing the court, as most of the sides prefer these days in order to avoid the first Do-Or-Die raid.
Ajay Kumar from Gujarat started with the first raid got a point and Ajay Thakur returned the favor as well.
A few minutes into the match and Sunil from Tamil Thalaivas performed one of the best backholds on star raider Sachin to tackle him.
This moment of individual brilliance would’ve been definitely satisfying for the spectators. A few seconds later, the experienced Jasvir took two points and brought Tamil Thalaivas equal to Gujarat Fortune Giants at a score of five all.
Minutes later, Ajay Thakur got a green card from the umpire for too much chatter by the team during the raid.
With his all-round abilities, Sachin took a point in a Do-Or-Die raid as well as had a tackle on Sukesh Hegde to pull Gujarat Fortune Giants at eight all.
Just before halftime, Ajay Thakur missed the middle line by a whisker, otherwise, he would’ve got rid of all four players on the court and got two extra points for all-out in his raid.
That would’ve put Gujarat Fortune Giants under pressure and would’ve handed the match firmly in the grip of Tamil Thalaivas. But, destiny had different plans.
At halftime, Gujarat Fortune Giants were leading the match by 16 – 14.
After halftime, Gujarat right corner gets rid of the man in form Ajay Thakur. Tamil Thalaivas tried Athul after substituting but he got out in the first raid itself and could not make any impact on the game.
Manjeet tried a wrist hold but failed, leaving only one man on the court who was tackled in the very next raid to inflict the all out. The score read 23-15, in favor of Sunil Kumar’s men.
Ajay from Gujarat Fortune Giants was continuously getting the better of Darshan at right cover.
While Manjeet Chhillar was not able to make an impact on the defence for the Thalaivas. It seemed as if he was trying a little too hard and losing patience in the process.
He also ended up with a green card. Sachin continued his form from his last season and completed his eighth Super 10 in PKL career by getting rid of Mighty Manjeet.
With the game, in its last quarter, tension began to rise and Sunil from Gujarat Fortune Giants also got a green card for too much talking.
With less than five minutes to go Gujarat concentrated on running the clock down as Thalaivas had no chance of a comeback. It all ended up with a resounding victory for the team from Gujarat with the scoreboard reading 36-25.
Raider of the match was Sachin from Gujarat Fortune Giants with 11 raid points. Parvesh Bhainswal was as solid as a rock and bagged four tackle points from five attempts with an astounding tackle percentage of 80%.
Ajay Thakur was again the lone warrior for Tamil Thalaivas and it seems the fortune for the team from South won’t improve unless their talismanic Captain gets support from others.
Barring Amit Hooda, none of the Thalaiva players have showcased any consistency. On the other hand, Gujarat brimming with young blood looks more balanced and hungry for success. With a rock-solid defense and raiders like Sachin in their arsenal, don’t be surprised if Gujarat once again makes it to the playoffs.
