Dabang Delhi, for once had managed to kick off their Pro Kabaddi campaign with a win when they prevailed over Jaipur Pink Panthers in their first match. However, they were brought back to earth soon after and went back to their losing ways. The team that burst their bubble was none other than the team they will be up against on Saturday evening, Gujarat Fortunegiants.
LIVE COMMENTARY: Gujarat Fortunegiants vs Dabang Delhi, 12 August 2017
The Adani Wilmar group owned Fortunegiants, on the other hand, have gone from strength to strength in their campaign and will have their tails up after they inflicted a morale deflating defeat on second season champions U Mumba just the night before.
Dabang Delhi, despite revamping their team ahead of this season, seem to have achieved little. They are clearly missing the services of a strike raider although how much are they ruing the loss of Kashiling Adake after his horrid last season is not known. Meraj Sheykh, sadly for the team, is going the Adake way as he too is facing a terrible slump in form. For Delhi, the sooner Meraj can find his mojo, the better.
What has also ailed Delhi is their inability to not make it count when they're in a position of strength or they have crawled their way to a position of strength. The killer instinct is clearly missing from the team and that hinders the growth of a winning mentality within the team.
At this stage of the tournament, the team would be eager to turn around their fortunes with a much-needed win for they would hate to replicate the performances of previous seasons even after transforming the look of the team.
For the Fortunegiants, it's a matter of continuing the good work. They have made it clear with their win over Dabang Delhi that they are not here to make up the numbers in this league. Besides, they have already won their previous fixture against the Delhi side.
The last match saw the rise of Rohit Gulia and after a performance like that, all eyes will be on the youngster as he faces the likes of Bajirao Hodage and Nilesh Shinde in the Delhi defense.
Gujarat Fortunegiants vs Dabang Delhi Match Prediction
The momentum clearly lies with Gujarat Fortunegiants. However, that doesn't mean that they can take it easy. The team knows that Captain Hegde's performances have not been up to the mark and Delhi's defense can stretch the team's raiders. But Delhi's raiding department has problems of its own and that tilts the scale in favor of the Gujarat Fortunegiants.