PKL Final: Bengaluru Bulls and Gujarat Fortunegiants clash for maiden title

Bengaluru Bulls, which lost the final in 2015, and last season's runners-up Gujarat Fortunegiants will look to lift the Pro Kabaddi League trophy when they lock horns in the final of Season 6 on Saturday, in Mumbai.

Bengaluru Bulls in 2015 and Gujarat Fortunegiants in 2017 have finished runners-up, but have never won the PKL title.

Pro Kabaddi League season six will see a new team emerge as the champion on Saturday, when last year's runners-up Gujarat Fortunegiants takes on 2015 finalist Bengaluru Bullsat the Dome@NSCI SVP Stadium, Mumbai.

Manpreet Singh, under whose guidance Gujarat had finished second best in season five, believes his squad can go all the way this time. ‘We came within touching distance of the trophy in last season’s final and had to be content with that. We plan to lift it this time,” said the Gujarat coach, who won the title as a player with Patna Pirates side in the third season.

“Our team of young talents are focussed on winning the trophy.”

Read:  Gujarat Fortunegiants enters final by beating U.P Yoddha

Randhir Singh, coach of Bengaluru Bulls, quipped: “Not many were confident that this team would reach the finals. I am proud of the players who have made it this far. Now that we are here, we will definitely go for the win. The team and support staff worked extra hard over the past few days.”

Bengaluru Bulls beat Gujarat Fortunegiants 49-31 in the Qualifier 1.

 

The team, led by Rohit Kumar, reached the final by beating Gujarat Fortunegiants 41-29 in the Qualifier 1.

Gujarat's captain Sunil Kumar, talking before the final at NSCI indoor stadium, said: “We will be playing against Bengaluru for the third time, both Rohit and Pawan Sehrawat are great players. Our team  made a few mistakes in the qualifier agains them and those will not be repeated. Our defence will be good support  for our raiders and there is solid teamwork in this squad.”

Bulls’ skipper Rohit Kumar said: “Strengthening the raiding and tightening our defence is our focus areas.  Gujarat is a young team and one cannot underestimate their tactical play.”

The winner of the final will receive a cash prize of ₹3 crore, while the runners-up will earn ₹1.8 crore. There are also individual awards for top performances of season 6 which include the Most Valuable Player (₹15 lakh), Best Raider, Ace Defender (₹10 lakh each), Debutant of the season (₹8 lakh).

The Final