After 28 contests over 16 days that entertained us as much as they drove us to the edge of our seats, the Kabaddi carnival of season 4 took a day’s rest on Monday on reaching the halfway stage. At this stage, the teams in the top four are closely stacked and are separated merely by 4 points. Patna Pirates won 5 out of 5 matches to begin the tournament and sit atop the league table with 26 points. They’re followed closely by Jaipur Pink Panthers and Puneri Paltan who are just a point behind the Pirates and occupy the second and third position respectively. U Mumba, surprisingly are at 4th place but just 4 points away from the Pirates, which means they can come to the top in no time with a single win.
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With all the teams having played half of their matches, the time is perfect to sit back and look at some of the names that have stood out in the first half of the Star Sports Kabaddi league. Some of the names that shone in the previous seasons have continued their good run while some haven’t lived up to the hype. Amidst those names, here are 5 of those players who have consistently delivered the goods for their respective sides and have been a major force behind their team’s current position in the league standings.
1) Mohit Chhillar
While in the first three seasons, it was his game that attracted eyeballs, in 4th season it was the price tag that made him one player everyone was waiting to see on the mat. Having come to the 4th season with the most expensive player of the league tag, Chhillar was understandably under a lot of pressure. But he has time and again vindicated his new owners’ faith in him as he sits atop the table with most successful tackles in the first half.
Although the Bulls haven’t quite enjoyed a rampaging run this season, they still are in with a chance as they sit at number 5 in the table, and much of the credit for that has to go to the duo of Rohit Kumar and Mohit Chhillar.
Chhillar not only tops the list of most successful tackles (27) but is also second on the charts of most tackles per match just behind Sandeep Dhull of Telugu Titans. Chhillar has come in for some criticism by those who have accused of the star defender of not bringing his U Mumba form to Bengaluru Bulls, but a lack of support of the kind he found U Mumba too is missing.
2) Rakesh Kumar
Barring the last couple of matches, Rakesh Kumar has proved to be the fulcrum of the U Mumba side that has been considerably weakened by the mass exodus that the team saw in the auctions ahead of the season 4.
After having rather low key stints with Patna Pirates in the previous seasons, the Arjuna Awardee Kumar has fitted perfectly in the U Mumba set up and has made important raids as well as tackles. He made a brilliant start in Mumbai colours in the match against Jaipur where he scored 12 points to help the team edge past Jaipur Pink Panthers.
He was instrumental in the team’s win against Bengal Warriors too with 4 crucial points in a low scoring win. His 11 points couldn’t win the game for his team against U Mumba but its value can’t be appreciated less.
After talismanic skipper Anup Kumar and raider par excellence Rishank Devadiga, Rakesh Kumar has become the third pillar of the U Mumba team and with 21 successful raids and 12 successful tackles, one of the most decorated players in the league is surely doing a good job for the team.
3) Pardeep Narwal
Not even 20 years of age and Pardeep Narwal is already a sensation in Star Sports Pro Kabaddi. And with his impressive showing in the 4th season, he has proved that he deserves every bit of it. He might not have ended the first half on a high but if one talks about the first 5 games, he ruled the stage of Pro Kabaddi like no one ever did.
It was riding on his performances that the Patna Pirates managed an unbeaten streak of 5 matches to begin their title defence. Narwal has 64 raid points, 14 more than Rohit Kumar who is the next name on the list.
The Sonepat boy has really got something golden about him as he snuck up more than 10 points thrice in the 4th season, which also included a staggering haul of 18 against U Mumba. He was grounded by Dabang Delhi and Jaipur Pink Panthers which restored our faith that the 19-year wonder kid is at least a human.
4) Rajesh Narwal
It can’t be denied that the Jaipur Pink Panthers have given the most exciting contests of the 4th edition, but the fact that they have come on top in 4 out of those 7 contests has to be attributed to Rajesh Narwal’s superlative performance. Although the team has revolved around Jasvir Singh’s heroics, Rajesh Narwal has quietly done the good work for his team. He easily qualifies as one of the best all-rounders in this season and stats tell that story.
He has made more successful raids than Jasvir Singh with 26 raids and has 12 tackles, the second highest for the team after Amit Hooda. But the contribution that Narwal makes with his calm on the mat is something that can’t be quantified but is extremely essential for the team, especially for its penchant to find itself in challenging situations.
His 16 points helped Jaipur rack up the jaw-dropping score of 51 against Dabang Delhi and win by a margin of 25 points
5) Manjeet Chhillar
The Puneri Paltan captain has formed one of the most lethal defences with the hawk Ravinder Pahal. Chhillar’s 23 tackles and Pahal’s 19 tackles have made life difficult for raiders playing against the Paltan. But what makes Chhillar’s showing even more impressive is the fact that he has led the team exceptionally well too. He has shouldered responsibility whenever the team has found the tough going and helped clinch match changing points.
If that’s not enough, he even has made 18 successful raids for the team in the seven matches he has played. The captain was at his best against Jaipur Pink Panthers and demolished Bengal Warriors almost single-handedly. His inspirational leadership is one of the major reasons Paltan are at the third place and are behind table toppers Patna by just a single point. Chhillar holds the key to the team’s chances in the second league.
