It was a spirited team effort from the Gujarat Fortune Giants as they emerged victorious against Bengaluru Bulls at Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium in Bengaluru. Our lethal defensive duo Sunil and Parvesh were outstanding, racking up 9 tackle points between them, while More GB shone with his all-round brilliance, securing five points.
Sachin Tanwar was deemed fit for the contest as Manpreet opted for the same Starting Seven that decimated the Bulls in our opening encounter in Hyderabad.
Despite getting a bonus point in the first raid, Sachin Tanwar was tackled by Saurabh, before Rohit Kumar sent Sunil Kumar to the bench.
With the scoreline reading 2-1, Rohit Kumar targeted the right corner in his second raid and got Ankit but More GB instantly secured two raid points to level the contest at 4-4
The momentum swung like a pendulum in the first quarter, but the Bulls got the upper hand after Sachin was super tackled by their defence and Pawan Sehrawat got Sunil Kumar in the 11th minute.
Things, however, changed very quickly as the Giants took three straight points including a stunning Super Tackle on Pawan Sehrawat. With two men left on the mat, Rohit Gulia got Mahender and the substitute Sumit Singh was tackled by Parvesh Bhainswal, as we enforced the Bulls’ first All-Out in the 14th minute.
The Giants’ defence continued to be dominant as Pawan Sehrawat and Rohit Kumar were tackled in successive raids and the Bulls were reduced to four when Rohit Gulia sent Amit Sheron to the bench.
Sunil and Parvesh’s combination tackle pinned Rohit Kumar down in a do-or-die raid in the 18th minute but Rohit Gulia was tackled by the Bulls in the last raid of the first half, as we went into the break with a lead of 18-12.
Our rock-solid defence wreaked havoc even in the second half as Sumit’s stunning tackle sent Pawan Sehrawat to the bench for the third time in the contest.
It looked like we were running away with the game but the Bengaluru defence responded strongly in the third quarter, producing two super tackles on Rohit Gulia and Sachin Tanwar to reduce the deficit to just four points.
After the time out, with just five minutes left on the clock, two failed do-or-die raids from Amit Sheron and Pawan Kumar had the home fans a little worried. Amit Sheron tackled More GB and Sunil returned the favour on Pawan Sehrawat to restore the three-point advantage.
It was an even tussle until Sachin Tanwar produced a game changing moment by taking out Rohit Kumar and Saurabh Nandal much to the satisfaction of our coach..
Bengaluru were down to one man after two successful raids from More GB and Sachin, and in the buzzer raid of the match, Amit Sheron was brilliantly tackled by Sunil Kumar to deny the Bulls even a solitary point from the game.
Full Time: Bengaluru Bulls 23-32 Gujarat Fortune Giants
Perfect raider of the match: Sachin Tanwar
Game changer of the match: More GB
With this brilliant win, the Giants move a spot up the table, sitting in 7th place with 30 points in the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League Season 7 table. They will be back in action after a week, when they meet Bengal Warriors at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium in Kolkata on 7th September.
