Pro Kabaddi 2018: These 3 players can change Gujarat's fortune in PKL final

Manpreet Singh's boys rectified their mistakes in Qualifier 2 and thrashed UP, who came into the match undefeated in 8 matches. After Bengaluru Bulls outperformed them and unsettled their defence

Gujarat Fortunegiants stormed into the playoffs of Pro Kabaddi league season six (PKL 2018). However, their surge was stopped by Bengaluru Bulls in Qualifier 1. But Manpreet Singh's boys rectified their mistakes in Qualifier 2 and thrashed UP Yoddha, who came into the match undefeated in 8 matches. After Bengaluru Bulls outperformed them and unsettled their defensive tactics. Then Hadi Oshtorak comes in to give Gujarat’s struggling defence department in the playoffs.

Here are 3 key players for Gujarat Fortunegiants in pro kabaddi 2018 final:
 
Sachin—Raider
 
Sachin has been superbly consistent in Pro Kabaddi 2018. He averaged 8.2 raid points throughout the season and is in the top 10 raiders list in the entire league. In the 2 playoff games, he scored a Super 10 in one and fell just 1 short of a Super 10 in the other. He has scored 19 raid points at a raid Strike Rate of 63 in these 2 games combined. But Sachin’s scoring dipped as the match progressed. He scored 13 out of his 19 raid points (68%) in the first half at a raid strike rate of 82%, which drop[ed down to 43% in the 2nd half.

Sachin – PKL 2018
MATCHES	22
Raid Points	180
SUPER 10s	6
Average Raid Points	8.2
Raid Strike Rate	52

 

 
Prapanjan – Raider
 
Prapanjan has become a regular starter in the team, the twin raiding efforts of Sachin and Prapanjan has proved difficult for teams to contain. He has scored 117 raid points in 21 matches at an average of 5.6. However, 80 out of those 117 raid points came in last 11 games at an average of 7.3. Prapanjan has not been at his best in the playoffs. In the 2 matches that he has played, he scored 5 raid points each game at a raid SR of just 36. In the two matches he was tackled 10 times and will look to avoid as many failed raids in the finals. Against the raiding heavy side like Bulls, Gujarat need to maintain the pace throughout the game and they will look upon their star performers for this.

Raid SR in Phases - PKL 2018
Phase (Mins)	Sachin	K. Prapanjan
1-10	66	63
11-20	52	52
21-30	47	36
31-40	44	42

Sachin and Prapanjan's raid point distribution in the first and second halves

1st Half			In Playoffs - PKL 2018	2nd Half
Sachin	Prapanjan			Sachin	Prapanjan
16	15	Raids		14	13
13	7	Raid Pts		6	3
2	5	Failed Raids		5	5
81%	47%	Raid SR		43%	23%

 
Hadi Oshtorak
 
Gujarat have been struggling in the defence department as their decorated cover combo of Sunil Kumar and Parvesh Bhainswal has not been at its best in these playoffs. But a surprise candidate has emerged and has been their best defender in these 2 matches in the playoffs stage. Hadi Oshtorak came off the bench in the loss to Bengaluru Bulls and put up good numbers, scoring 3 tackle points. Even in their second qualifier against U.P, he was their best defender, once again scoring 3 tackle points. In this playoff run, he has brilliant, average 3 tackle points per match at a phenomenal tackle SR of 67. For comparison, none of the 4 Gujarat defenders in the starting 7 has a tackle SR greater than even 30. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, however, as Hadi has always been very good in the playoffs and was an important part of Patna’s winning run in season 4.
 

Hadi Oshtorak in playoffs - PKL
Matches	5
Tackle Points	15
Super Tackles	3
Average Tackle Points	3.0
Tackle Strike Rate	63