The VIVO Pro Kabaddi Season 5 caravan now travels to the beautiful city of Ahmedabad on Friday. The city will host their first ever VIVO Pro Kabaddi match with home team Gujarat Fortunegiants kick-starting the proceedings at The Arena. Here’s a look at the Ahmedabad leg opener, where the Fortunegiants take on U Mumba. 

Match 23 (Zone A): Gujarat Fortunegiants vs U Mumba

Gujarat Fortunegiants have played three matches so far and have tasted all results possible in the game of kabaddi - a win, a loss and a tie. Though they started the season showing great promise by means of a convincing win against Dabang Delhi K.C., they have not been able to hold on to their form lately. They, at present, sit fourth in the Zone A points table, and coach Manpreet Singh needs to re-strategise to ensure they utilise their home advantage to the hilt. Captain Sukesh Hegde has not been at his best of late. In fact, he was substituted early into their previous game, which they lost against Haryana Steelers. One positive from that game was young raider Sachin, who proved his mettle with a total of 8 points, alongside Mahendra Rajput’s 5. Gujarat’s defence has looked solid with the presence of Fazel Atrachali and Abozar Mighani on either corner. Irrespective of a little dip in their form, there is no denying they can bounce back anytime as they have the required wherewithal. 

U Mumba’s Season 5 campaign started with a loss against Maharashtra rivals Puneri Paltan but coach Bhaskaran Edacherry and ‘Captain Cool’ Anup Kumar quickly assessed their mistakes to return and win the next two. At present, they sit second in the Zone A points table and look in good form with all the departments blooming to ring in a difference. With one of the best attacking force in the league, U Mumba have their top 3 raiders - Anup, Kashiling Adake and Shabeer Bappu - in glistening form and that should be a matter of worry for the newcomers today. Young defender Surinder Singh has impressed one and all as right cover providing the team with excellent support alongside D. Suresh Kumar and N. Renjith. With all the stalwarts and young players joining hands and developing a great understanding, the Fortunegiants will have to play out of their skin to upset the Season 2 champions. 

Don’t forget to catch the action live from 8 pm IST on the Star Sports network and hotstar.