Giants beat Yoddhas 37-32 in a nail-bitting thriller

Hiten Shukla,Gujarat
It was no less than Super Sunday blockbuster, when Gujarat Fortune Giants overcome UP Yoddha 37-32 in the Inter Zone Week Challenge Pro Kabaddi League Season 6 match at The Arena by TransStadia, Maninagar, Ahmedabad.
In a thrilling last match of the Inter Zone Challenge Week, in which fortunes changed hands in the last four minutes saw, Manpreet Singh’s boys registered eighth win in eleven matches.
After taking a comfortable lead in the first half, Gujarat Fortune Giants made a few errors which allowed Yoddhas to make a comeback. In fact Yoddhas over came nine point deficit to take 22-23 lead in the 31st minute when the Giants conceded allout.
However, Rohit Gulia’s terrific hand-touch raiding point followed by captain Sunil Kumar’s tackle against Srikanth Jadhav ensured Gujarat keep their unbeaten record intact. The Giants inflicted second allout in the dying moments of the match to regain complete control and win the match 37-32. Captain Sunil Kumar was named best defender.
“I have always learnt from my coaches not to give up till the last whistle of the match. Back your players till the last moment. I guess that made the difference and we managed to regain the lead and win,” roared Manpreet. The coach admitted there were few mistakes but the Giants will certainly work and rectify those before the next match.
Earlier, in the first half, Gujarat Fortune Giants sprinted off the block showing now mercy towards opposition. Sachin Tanwar continued from where he left the previous day. Whether it was do-or-die or a normal raid, Sachin mesmerised with his signature style running hand touch and bonus point skills.
When UP Yoddha’s Narender tried to catch Giants off guard with a quick raid, Giants defender Ruturaj Koravi displayed home team’s preparedness with a superb blocking and tackling. Yoddha captain Rishank Devadiga was made to look ordinary by Giants defence. One of the costliest players of the League, Devadiga had just one point to his credit. In the 10th minute Giants inflicted first allout of the match going ahead 13-4.
In next ten minutes, both teams shared the honours equally by collecting six points each. When the whistle was blown for the half time, Gujarat Fortune Giants were in the driving seat – 19-10.