Pro Kabaddi Season VI has reached its culmination, with the grand finale scheduled on Saturday, January 5, 2019, in Mumbai. Last season’s runner-ups Gujarat Fortunegiants take on Season 2 runner-ups Bengaluru Bulls for their maiden title in Pro Kabaddi 2018.

After three straight seasons of Patna Pirates bagging the Pro Kabaddi League title, there will be a new winner and one for the very first time. Gujarat fought back in the second qualifier to beat UP Yoddha to set up the title clash.

It is a matchup of one of the best defensive units against one of the best attacking units that this season has seen. Gujarat comes into the final with second most average tackle points per match (behind U Mumba) thanks to cover combination of Parvesh Bhainswal and Sunil Kumar. Both feature in the top-5 defenders of the season. They accounted for 75 points between them at an average of 6.8 tackle points with a remarkable strike rate of 63%.

Led by Pawan Sehrawat as the top raider in the league with 249 raid points, Bengaluru has the most average raid points this season at 22.6 per game. His dominance can be ascertained by the fact that he has more raid points than anyone else and has a raid strike rate of 71%, which is highest by any raider with more than 30 raids this season.

Manpreet Singh, coach of Gujarat Fortunegiants and a winner with Patna Pirates: “This is the finale of Pro Kabaddi League Season VI and it doesn’t get bigger than this. Last year, we were very close to winning the trophy, and this year we are better prepared. We are excited and so are the boys to take the trophy home. In the second qualifier, both Sunil and Sachin were in great form and this team of young talent are really focused on winning the trophy.”

Gujarat Fortunegiants captain Sunil Kumar: “Season VI has been very special for me, for the first time I have captained a team and led them to the finals. We have displayed immense teamwork throughout the season and we are looking forward to lifting the trophy. In the previous match against Bengaluru Bulls, we made a few mistakes and those will not be repeated, we are tightening our defence which will be good support and encouragement for our raiders to score points. We will be playing Bengaluru Bulls for the third time, both Rohit Kumar and Pawan Sehrawat are great players and we are really looking forward to the match tomorrow.”

Randhir Singh, Coach, Bengaluru Bulls: “When we initially began the season, not many were confident that this team would reach the finals, today 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 have worked extra hard over the past few days to ensure that victory is ours.”

Rohit Kumar, Captain, Bengaluru Bulls: “It has taken Bengaluru Bulls to get back to our best and we will not let this opportunity go. We have reached the finals and the aim is to take the trophy home. We are focusing on strengthening our raiding and tightening our defence because while Gujarat is a young team one cannot underestimate their gameplay. They have played well through the season and we will surely give them a tough fight in the finals, we are looking forward to meeting them on the mat tomorrow.”

Probable playing 7

Gujarat Fortunegiants: Sunil Kumar (c), Sachin Tanwar, K Prapanjan, Hadi Oshtorak, Parvesh Bhainswal, Ruturaj Koravi, and Sachin Vittala

Bengaluru Bulls: Rohit Kumar (c), Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, Kashiling Adake, Ashish Kumar Sangwan, Mahender Singh, Amit Sheoran, and Raju Lal Choudhary

The summit clash of the season will be followed up with a prize ceremony with the winners taking home Rs 3 crore, runners-up claiming Rs 1.80 crore. The most valuable player of the season is going to take home Rs 15 lakh, followed by Rs 10 lakh for the best raider. Here are all the details ahead of the Pro Kabaddi 2018 final:

Team Awards
  • Winner – Rs 300 lakh
  • Runners Up – Rs 180 lakh
  • Third Place – Rs 120 lakh
  • Fourth Place – Rs 80 lakh
  • Fifth Place – Rs 35 lakh
  • Sixth Place – Rs 35 lakh
Individual Awards
  • MVP – Rs 15 lakh
  • Best Raider – Rs 10 lakh
  • Ace Defender of the Tournament – Rs 10 lakh
  • Sports Debutant of the Season – Rs 8 lakh
  • Best Referee Female – Rs 3.5 lakh
  • Best Referee Male – Rs 3.5 lakh
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