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Gujarat Fortune Giants look fearless but they have not been able to dominate the mat. Telegu Titans look fire-less after 7 games as they are at the bottom of the points table. It is very difficult for the Titans to pull out any sort of motivation for themselves to get back on the mat. But they will have to do it for their fans.
Gujarat Fortune Giants looked unbeatable when they won consecutive games. They beat the UP Yodha in a point fest and then tamed the Haryana Steelers. They looked all set to rattle U Mumba in their next but got foxed. Their defense looked clueless against their arch-rivals as they are back to square one.
The Telegu Titans were shown the door by the Haryana Steelers in their last game. Once again it was a toothless performance where the raiders couldn’t make a mark neither the defense had anything to offer. They will enter the mat as sitting ducks for the Fortune Giants.
TEAMS PREVIEW
Telugu Titans Preview
Telegu Titans have always been an underachieving team. Since its inclusion in the PKL, everyone has had high expectations from this team, but it has never materialized. This season the story continues as the Titans are in their comfortable territory in the points table, viz last benchers. It is shocking and astounding to see a bunch of talented youngsters not able to forge half a decent partnership on the mat.
Coaches Venkatesh Gaud and Manjeet Chiller would be speechless by now. The major concern for the Titans is that they lack a leader. They have no one to fall back on as most of the players are in lone-wolf mode. Siddharth Desai has a serious head injury, Captain Monu Goyat hasn’t been inspirational, Vishal Bharadwaj continues to have butter fingers and Ravinder Pahal is past his prime.
Manjit Chillar would be the most disappointed with his team. But then the Titans will have to fight and perish. They will be up against the Fortune Giants who are a dangerous team.
The Telegu Titans need to infuse some fresh air and a new strategy. They have got T Adarsh and Iranian Mohsen Magsoudlou in the fray since the last few games. They have also given some match time to right-cover Nitin and left Cover Mohit. This will start yielding results. Titans need to keep Vishal Bharadwaj aside for some games as he is not able to contribute much. P Ramakrishna and Prince are young defenders who can be unleashed on the Fortune Giants.
Overall this will be a match where the Titans may not fancy their chances. But if they can hold the Fortune Giants to a low score or even a TIE, they will give themselves enough for the next game.
Gujarat Giants Preview
The Fortune Giants seem super-charged on occasions while they suffer a brain fag in some games. After beating the UP Yodha and Haryana Steelers in tough games, they succumbed to arch-rivals U Mumba. It was due to a complete failure on part of the raiders as well as the defenders. Their raiders earned 35 raid points against the UP Yodha, and 23 against the Steelers but they could earn just 20 raid points against U Mumba.
A sudden breakdown is not what the doctor has ordered for the Fortune Giants who are currently placed 7th in the points table with just 19 points. This has been the characteristic behavior of the Giants since the last season.
The Fortune Giants have some tough games ahead of them and they need to reboot at the earliest. Their raiding is not a concern as much as their defense. The defense could earn just 4 tackle points in the match against U Mumba. The other issue was that the opposition kept the defenders off the mat one by one resulting in constant changes in the positioning of the players.
Raider Rakesh has been in sensational touch while captain Chandran Ranjit has played courageously. Raider Prateek Dahiya has performed above expectations and still, the Fortune Giants have the options of players like Prashanth Kumar and Mahendra Singh Rajput.
The Gujarat Fortune Giants have always enjoyed their superiority over the Titans. The Telegu Titans have been able to beat the Giants just once in their 6 meetings so far. This happened way back in season 7. Hence the Fortune Giants have a golden opportunity to get back to winning ways.
TELT vs GG
Winning Prediction
The Gujarat Fortune Giants need to win a lot of matches to keep themselves in the hunt for the play-off. Their performance has been oscillating between good and ordinary since the last few games.
The duo of Rakesh and Chanran Ranjit will trouble the Telegu Titans. If raiders like Prateek or Prashanth enter the ring, Titans will be in deep trouble. Defenders Arkam Shaikh and left corner Rinku will have to rock steady so that the Fortune Giants have some steady income from tackles too.
The Telegu Titans will get some youngsters on the mat. Raider Vinay has been in good form and he will look forward to exploiting the weak Gujarat defense. Defender Adarsh is the key for the Telegu Titans. Among the Superstars in the Titan camp, Monu Goyat is the only one who can now save the Titans. He will fire against the Fortune Giants. The Telegu Titans may not win but they will give Gujarat a run for its money.
Gujarat Fortune Giants will win.
