Giants to play for pride against Patna

In a battle of pride, Gujarat Fortune Giants will take on former champions Patna Pirates in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 7 match at Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex Noida on Saturday.

Having missed the Play-off ticket by a whisker, Giants, the two-time finalists, are looking to end the season on a high. The match has all the ingredients to be a thriller as Patna, who too are out of contention for the play-off stage, will be looking to fight till the last Joule. Having said so, Giants certainly enjoy a psychological advantage over Paradeep Narwal led side having beaten them 29-26 in August encounter.

For Giants’ coach Manpreet Singh, stand-in skipper Rohit Gulia has been man-Friday this season. He has hit a purple patch of his PKL career and been the leading raider for the Giants.
When Gulia was handed the captain’s baton after an injury to Sunil Kumar, the all-rounder has played with double the energy. In fact, he has two successive Super-10 – each against Tamil Thalaivas (11pts) and Haryana Steelers (11pts) – last week.

The all-rounder will be looking to repeat his August performance against Patna. Gulia had scored his first Super-10 against Pirates and was instrumental in Giants’ win, then. The Gujarat team skipper has not only contributed in the raid but has been instrumental in tackle points as well.

Meanwhile, young raider Sonu Jaglan will be looking to continue his impressive run as he will be the player to watch out for next season. Despite not having his regular partner Sunil Kumar, ace defender Parvesh Bhainswal has looked rock solid. Parvesh has led the defence unit with aplomb. He had high-5 against Thalaivas and was quite successful in keeping Vikas Kandola silent in a losing cause versus Haryana.
Parvesh is going to be pivotal in tomorrow’s match. Pardeep Narwal has had a few Super-10 this season as well, but the leading scorer of PKL will have to cross strong wall in form of Parvesh Bhainswal to cross the winning line on Saturday.