Tamil Thalaivas vs Gujarat Fortunegiants match review

The Tamil Thalaivas faced the Gujarat Fortunegiants in a hyped inter-zonal match in the Pro Kabaddi League 2017, and it definitely did live up to the hype. Heading into this match, the Tamil Thalaivas seemed like the clear underdogs, facing a Fortunegiants team that had achieved 2^nd position in Zone A, while only falling to 3 defeats. The Thalaivas have been in the midst of a late revival this season, and their fans will be sure to take this match as evidence of the desire and passion for the competition that resides in this team.

Both teams began proceedings similarly, with tackle points earned by the Thalaivas’ Ajay Thakur and the Fortunegiants’ Abozar. Prapanjan was the first to score a raid point for the Thalaivas, setting the tone for this match where offensive play ruled supreme. The Thalaivas then took serious damage from Gujarat’s Sachin, who succeeded with 4 consecutive raids that completely flipped the score line to 8-6 in favour of his team. The Gujarat Fortunegiants proceeded to pick up a large amount of raid points through Sachin and an All-out inflicted on the Tamil Thalaivas. The Thalaivas were left scrambling as they looked for avenues to score points as their opponents racked up a lead. The first half ended with the Thalaivas trailing by 7 points as the score read 20-13.

Gujarat started the second half strong with Sachin continuing his brilliant form on their behalf. The Fortunegiants began to gradually adopt a passive style as the second half progressed, as they focused on defending their lead over the risk leaking points through unsuccessful raids. The Thalaivas found themselves in the inconvenient position of trailing behind their rivals by 10 points in the last quarter of the match.

The last ten minutes of the match was proof of just how important Ajay Thakur is to this Thalaivas team. Working with Prapanjan in offense, Thakur had experienced a slow game by his own standards to this point. In the last 10 minutes, Ajay Thakur and the Thalaivas went on a rampage of raids and tackles, as the Fortunegiants were simply unable to control the damage being dealt. In a matter of minutes, the Thalaivas team closed the gap to 3 points. Ajay Thakur pulled off an audacious 2-point raid in the dying seconds of the match, to flip the match in the face of their rivals. The Thalaivas ended the game victorious and in heroic circumstances.