A poor start in the campaign saw the Gujarat Fortunegiants tie against Dabang Delhi K.C. and then lose to the Haryana Steelers. For a team that managed to reach the finals last season, this was a bit unexpected. Thankfully, the win against Puneri Paltan came at the right time and could provide the side the boost the needed.
Sachin may be listed as a raider but he showed his all-round prowess by picking up some tackle points in the last game as well. He was key to the Gujarat Fortunegiants win in the last game and will attract a lot of attention against the Tamil Thalaivas. Ajay Kumar scored 6 raid points in the last match and players like Dong Geon Lee, K. Prapanjan, and Lalit Chaudhary will be hoping to contribute in the raiding department as well.
Captain Sunil Kumar will lead the defense alongside Parvesh Bhainswal, Sachin Vittala, and Rohit Gulia. The Gujarat Fortunegiants have a tried and tested core even though the side is quite young. It is just about finding the right form.
Ajay Thakur and the Tamil Thalaivas put on an absolute clinic against Puneri Paltan in their last match. The Raiders took full advantage of a tiring Puneri Paltan side that had been playing successive matches as a part of its home stretch.
Ajay Thakur became only the third player in Pro Kabaddi history to score over 600 raid points and would have been happy to cap his night off with a win. Now that the Tamil Thalaivas have snapped their streak of five losses, the tough part for them is to continue winning.
The Tamil Thalaivas a good team on paper with plenty of talent offensively and defensively but a poor start to their campaign has left them with lesser room for errors than their opponents. Jasvir Singh and Sukesh Hegde were very good in the last match while Manjeet Chillar continued to lead the defense.
The side is certainly on the upswing and could continue to shock people that were writing it off early.
The Gujarat Fortunegiants and the Tamil Thalaivas have only faced each other once in the past with the Tamil Thalaivas emerging victors on that occasion. It is difficult to ascertain much from just one match but having never been beaten by the Fortunegiants could offer some extra confidence to the Tamil Thalaivas.
The Tamil Thalaivas are a more experienced side and are led by one of the best Raiders in the league. Now that the other teammates are also standing up, stopping Ajay Thakur and his men might be difficult for the Gujarat Fortunegiants.
Back the Tamil Thalaivas to win.