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Gujarat Fortune Giants were the finalists of Pro Kabaddi League in 2018-19 where they marginally lost to Bengaluru Bulls. With the guidance and experience of coach Manpreet Singh by their side, one expected Gujarat to put up an impressive performance this season as well.
Gujarat retained the same core this season, securing the services of key players like Sunil Kumar, Parvesh Bhainswal, Sachin Tanwar and Rohit Gulia. However, they could not achieve similar levels of success this season. They started the season with a bang and bagged a hat-trick of wins but it all went downhill thereafter. Gujarat were heavily inconsistent and their key players performed sporadically.
Although their season was marred with a lot of trouble, Gujarat did have a few positives to take home. Here is a brief review of their topsy-turvy campaign this time around.
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Key Stats
Played: 22 | Won: 7 | Lost: 13 | Tie: 2 | Total: 51 - Finished 9th
Total points scored: 686
Total points conceded: 668
Raid points: 372
Tackle points: 224
All-outs conceded: 25
Overall win percentage: 31.8%
What worked?
Before the season started, Sachin Tanwar and Rohit Gulia were handed the responsibility of leading Gujarat’s offensive unit. Sachin wasn’t upto the mark as he failed to produce those big raids he was known for. On the other hand, his partner Rohit blossomed under pressure and lead his team’s attack quite well. He picked up 142 points and came to his team’s rescue in crucial situations.
Talking about the defense, a point that’s worth noting is that Gujarat conceded only 668 points, which was the lowest total conceded by any team this season. Does that mean their defense was too good? Well that was not quite the case. Here are a few points where Gujarat lacked.
What did not work?
Gujarat’s well-known defensive pair of Sunil Kumar and Parvesh Bhainswal was not that lethal this season. The fact that neither of them featured in the list of top 10 defenders this season. It won’t be wrong if we say that the duo did not live upto their standards.
Also, Gujarat scored only 686 points, which is the second lowest total this season. Strike raider Sachin Tanwar was caught off guard quite frequently and that was one of the main causes for Gujarat’s average show in attack. He did have quick footwork but his raids looked directionless. Sachin featured in 16 games and scored only 85 points, which is almost a third of what he managed last season.
All-rounder GB More promised a lot more than what he delivered. He could have provided more depth to this team but failed to do so in a meaningful way.
Overall, it was a disappointing outing for this team and a season that they would want to forget in haste.
Going forward
Rohit Gulia was the pick of Gujarat’s players this season. Things could have been different had he received enough support from Gujarat’s assisting raiders.
Also, Ruturaj Koravi doesn’t look like the best option for the corner position. He has featured in that position for a couple of years now but the results haven’t been that great. Gujarat may want to add someone with a little more control in that slot.
