PKL 2018, Final: Bengaluru Bulls vs Gujarat Fortune Giants: Bengaluru Bulls throned champions of PKL 6 at the back of Pawan Sehrawat's 'raid storm'
A 'Pawan Kumar Sehrawat' storm proved too hot to handle for the Gujarat Fortune Giants at the DOME@NSCI SCP Stadium in Mumbai as the Bulls' stalwart notched up 22 raid points in the Bulls' 38-33 win over Gujarat that saw the Bengaluru Bulls emerge as champions of the Pro Kabaddi League season six.
The high-tension finale got off to a bright start as Mahender Singh picked up the first point of the night with a tackle on Sachin Tanwar which was soon nullified as Rohit Kumar failed to pick up a point on the Do or Die raid.
Bengaluru managed to stay in the lead on most occasions, only be a slender-point as Gujarat managed to pull a point back each time as the two teams went into the first half-time timeout at a deadlock with scores reading 6-6.
The time-out seemed to have done the Fortune Giants a world of good as a superb effort from Prapanjan, who erased the two defenders on the mat for Bengaluru helped Gujarat affect a vital all-out on the Bengaluru Bulls as the former raced away to 15-9 lead and added another point to pile the pressure on the Bulls with a 16-9 lead at the break.
The second half saw a superlative effort from Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, who kept picking points in a flurry as he single-handedly erased the full-house of defenders and with one raid, took off the last two men on the mat for Gujarat as the Bulls went into a 23-22 lead.
With just three minutes left on the clock, Gujarat pulled things back in style as the scores were leveled on 29-29 until Sehrawat took the onus on himself and picked up two raid points in a row before Sumit Singh's ankle hold threw Rohit Gulia off the mat.
As the clock showed a little more than a minute, Sehrawat cleaned up the Gujarat defense as he triggered wild celebrations in the Bengaluru camp. In the end, Sehrawat's monumental 22-point effort proved too hot to handle for Gujarat as the Bengaluru Bulls lifted their first ever title of the Pro Kabaddi League.
Gujarat Fortune Giants
Sunil Kumar - 4/10
The Gujarat skipper topped the charts for Gujarat on the tackle points level but was tagged on numerous occasions by Sehrawat which tilted the match in favor of the Bengaluru Bulls.
Sachin Tanwar - 7/10
Tanwar looked slightly off-color in the opening half as he just picked up two points in the first half but set the tension going in the Bulls camp in the second half as he continually chipped off with the raid points and finished with a 'Super-10' from the match.
K Prapanjan - 6.5/10
The lanky raider was the sparkling player from the first half for Gujarat as he wiped out the Bulls defense unit in the first half to effect an all-out but went missing in the second half.
Parvesh Bhainswal - 5/10
The cover defender did bring down Pawan Sehrawat on a few occasions but could only finish off with two tackle points from the whole game.
Hadi Oshtorak - 4.5/10
The Iranian picked up just the one point in the game through a decisive ankle hold on Pawan Sehrawat in the first half.
Sachin Vittala - 4.5/10
The left corner defender brought on his famous back hold to bring down Pawan Sehrawat but seemed a little hesitant to put in a tackle and had just one point from two tackles in the game.
Ruturaj Koravi - 4/10
Koravi picked up a solitary point from the game as he trapped Pawan Sehrawat with a double thigh hold in the opening raid of the second half but his inability to retract in time saw him gifting away easy points to Sehrawat.
SUBSTITUTES
Rohit Gulia - 7/10
The all-rounder was subbed off the benches in the second half and struck in vital junctions including a vital super raid that shifted the momentum towards the Gujarat Fortune Giants.
Amit - 3/10
The left corner defender came into the game in the dying moments of the game but had no contribution in terms of points as he made two poor tackles.