A repeat of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) Season 6 final awaits us as the champions of that season, Bengaluru Bulls take on the Gujarat Giants in the sixth match of PKL Season 11. The Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad plays host to this contest, scheduled to be played on Sunday, October 20.
The Bengaluru Bulls have played their first match of the season and have had a very poor start. Coming up against the Telugu Titans, who had five wins in their last two season, they slipped up against them and lost their season opener by a margin of 37-29, failing to salvage a point from the game.
Their new captain, Pardeep Narwal and raiding force, Ajinkya Pawar and Jai Bhagwan, also failed to make an impact, with the raiding combining to score a total of seven points. In their defense, it was Surinder Singh who had a telling impact on the contest after going unsold in the auction, with the defender picking up a high-5 on his return to the mat.
Saurabh Nandal and Nitin Rawal also chipped in with a few points in the game but that wasn't enough for the Bulls to scrape through and get a point to their name. With that loss, they currently sit 10th on the points table with a score difference of -8 to their name.
As for the Gujarat Giants, they will be playing their first game of the season. They had an impressive season last year as they finished in the top half of the table with 13 wins in their 22 games. However, they came up against a high-flying Haryana Steelers, who beat them in Eliminator 2 as they crashed out of the tournament.
The Giants made some noise in the auction, with some high-profile buys in Guman Singh, Vahid Reza Eimehr and Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh. They were one of the few teams in the auction who went on a spending spree in the auction and ended up buying 15 players with their 5 retentions to go.
With a well-rounded squad, they will hope that they are able to secure a maiden title for the first time in the tournament's history.
PKL 2024, Gujarat Giants vs Bengaluru Bulls Prediction: Can the Bulls beat the Giants?
The Giants hold the bragging rights in this contest, with seven wins compared to the five wins that Bulls have. Considering that the Bengaluru Bull's defence showed positive signs in the last game and that Gujarat has a good raiding unit, expect some explosive action on the mat to make it a cracking contest.
Prediction: Gujarat Giants to win match number 6