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Pro Kabaddi 2019 culminated last Saturday in Ahmedabad as the Bengal Warriors defeated the table-toppers of this season, Dabang Delhi K.C. to win their maiden Pro Kabaddi trophy. The Kolkata-based franchise joined the likes of U Mumba, Jaipur Pink Panthers, Bengaluru Bulls and Patna Pirates in the elite list of the franchises who have captured the Pro Kabaddi championship.
The raiders dominated the defenders in the seventh edition of Pro Kabaddi as a monumental number of 5,341 raid points were scored in this season against 2,770 tackle points. While the raiders have always ruled the roost on the kabaddi mat, players like Pawan Sehrawat, Pardeep Narwal, Maninder Singh, Siddharth Desai and Naveen Kumar ensured that the defenders have nothing to cheer about as none of the defenders could touch the triple figure-mark in Pro Kabaddi 2019.
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It is pretty clear by now that the top scorer of each team in Pro Kabaddi 2019 was a raider. So without further ado, let us have a look at the one player who scored the most points for each team this year -
#12 Tamil Thalaivas - Rahul Chaudhari
Matches - 22, Total Points Earned - 138, Most Points in a Match - 14
Rahul Chaudhari finally bid farewell to his first Pro Kabaddi team, Telugu Titans in 2019 as the Tamil Thalaivas snapped him up in the auction. Though he could not live up to the expectations, he scored 138 points in 22 matches to finish the season as his side's best player.
Also Read - PKL 2019: 5 elite players who disappointed the fans
Out of his 138 points, 130 came via raids in Pro Kabaddi 2019 at an average of 5.9 raid points/match. He registered 4 Super 10s in the tournament but the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup winner failed to inspire the Tamil Thalaivas to the playoffs. He even scored 8 tackle points in the 22 games he played.
#11 Gujarat Fortune Giants - Rohit Gulia
Matches - 22, Total Points Earned - 142, Most Points in a Match - 13
Rohit Gulia had joined the Gujarat Fortune Giants in 2017 and though the Fortune Giants managed to make it to the final of both the 2017 and the 2018 seasons, Gulia could not impress fans much. However, in 2019, the fans witnessed an improved version of Rohit Gulia as the all-rounder not only finished as the best player of the team but he also became the new captain of his team.
He featured in all the 22 fixtures of Gujarat Fortune Giants in Pro Kabaddi 2019 where he amassed 142 points. Gulia scored 132 raid points and 10 tackle points in this season, which include 4 Super 10s and 1 Super Tackle.
The all-rounder had a better average than the team's lead raider, Sachin Tanwar in this season, hence, Manpreet Singh had no hesitation in handing over the reins of the team to Gulia when Sunil Kumar was ruled out because of injury.
As the Ahmedabad-based franchise could not qualify for the playoffs this season, Gulia will look to work hard in the off-season and lead his team from the front in Pro Kabaddi 2020.
#10 Puneri Paltan - Manjeet
Matches - 22, Total Points Earned - 151, Most Points in a Match - 16
The former Patna Pirates star, Manjeet emerged as one of the most improved players of the season as he scored 50 points more than what he had scored in the previous season. Playing for Puneri Paltan in Pro Kabaddi 2019, the tall raiding all-rounder surpassed the century mark in the raiding department with 123 raid points in 22 matches.
In the defensive unit, he aggregated 28 tackle points at an impressive average of 1.22 successful tackles/match. Despite the presence of Nitin Tomar, Surjeet Singh and Girish Ernak in the team, Manjeet proved to be the most important player of Puneri Paltan as he contributed actively in both the departments.
The all-rounder earned the praise of the entire kabaddi universe with his consistent performances in Pro Kabaddi 2019. As the Pune-based franchise could not finish in the top 6, Manjeet would be gunning to perform even better in the upcoming edition of Pro Kabaddi.
It will be interesting to see if he is able to carry on his form into the next season because a lot of players have fizzled out from the league in spite of their promising starts.
#9 U.P. Yoddha - Shrikant Jadhav
Matches - 22, Total Points Earned - 152, Most Points in a Match - 15
Shrikant Jadhav emerged as the surprise top performer from the U.P. Yoddha team which consisted of Monu Goyat, Rishank Devadiga, Nitesh Kumar and Mohsen Maghsoudlou. The former U Mumba raider scored 152 points in Pro Kabaddi 2019 and played a crucial role in U.P. Yoddha's journey to the playoffs.
His successful raid percentage of 50.34% shows how much he has worked on his game. Jadhav scored 3 Super 10s and executed 2 Super Raids to finish with 148 raid points in the tournament. He had a wonderful average of 6.72 raid points/match this season. Even in the defensive unit, he chipped in with 4 tackle points at a strike rate of 33.33%.
Though Jadhav has been a part of Pro Kabaddi since Season 2, he has never been able to generate an impact as he did in Season 7. U.P. Yoddha were struggling in the initial part of this season, however, the former Bengal Warriors player, Jadhav took charge and guided his team to a third-place finish with the support of Nitesh Kumar and Sumit.
#8 Jaipur Pink Panthers - Deepak Niwas Hooda
Matches - 20, Total Points Earned - 158, Most Points in a Match - 14
One of the most valuable kabaddi players to have played the game, Deepak Niwas Hooda had been supremely consistent in the raiding unit of Jaipur Pink Panthers this season. He featured in only 20 matches but still managed to claim the award of the best player of his team with 158 points in Pro Kabaddi 2019.
His teammates supported him well in the first phase of the tournament. However, as the season progressed, the likes of Sandeep Dhull and Deepak Narwal could not bring their 'A' game to the table. As Hooda got hurt in the final stages of the league round, Jaipur Pink Panthers missed out on a berth in the playoffs by a whisker.
The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup winner had played an important part in the success that the Rajasthan-based franchise achieved in the first few matches. He scored 7 Super 10s this season and a majority of them came in the earlier part of the season.
As Jaipur failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second consecutive time under Hooda's leadership, it will be interesting to see if the team management continues him as the skipper.
#7 U Mumba - Abhishek Singh
Matches - 21, Total Points Earned - 163, Most Points in a Match - 16
Playing only his second season in Pro Kabaddi, Abhishek Singh outshone the seasoned pros like Rohit Baliyan and Sandeep Narwal to end the season as the best player of U Mumba. The raider scored 163 points in Pro Kabaddi and a majority of them came through his raids. Singh attempted 332 raids in the season, out of which 48.79% were successful.
The U Mumba star executed 3 Super Raids and added 10 Super 10s to his tally in the seventh edition of Pro Kabaddi. He could have managed to touch the 200-point milestone had he featured in all the matches that U Mumba played in, but he missed some games in the middle.
Singh had saved his best for the playoffs as he scored 16 points against Haryana Steelers to take the Mumbai-based franchise into the semi-finals. While he could not lead his team to the final, the kabaddi universe heaped praises on him for his flamboyant performances in Pro Kabaddi 2019.
#6 Haryana Steelers - Vikash Kandola
Matches - 20, Total Points Earned - 195, Most Points in a Match - 13
The talismanic raider of the Haryana Steelers, Vikash Kandola had to sit out of his team's initial games due to an injury and the Steelers lost some matches during that time. However, the Sonipat-based franchise's fortunes changed completely when Kandola returned to the playing seven.
He played only 20 matches and he even captained the Haryana Steelers in the absence of Dharmaraj Cheralathan. Kandola finished at the sixth position on the 'Most Raid Points' list with 190 raid points in the tournament. He scored an astounding number of 11 Super 10s to finish Pro Kabaddi 2019 with an average of 9.5 raid points/match.
Though he is the primary raider of the team, Kandola showcased his tackling abilities by contributing 5 tackle points at a strike rate of 25%.
The team management and fans of Haryana Steelers will hope that Kandola continues to perform in the manner he did in Pro Kabaddi 2019. However, they would also hope that he plays all the matches for his team in the future.
#5 Bengal Warriors - Maninder Singh
Matches - 20, Total Points Earned - 205, Most Points in a Match - 19
Maninder Singh took over the leadership role of the Bengal Warriors side as he replaced Surjeet Singh as the team's new captain in Pro Kabaddi 2019. The former Jaipur Pink Panthers star had been phenomenal in the past two seasons for Bengal Warriors but this season he played with more responsibility to finish with 205 points in 20 matches.
The Punjab-born superstar kept himself away from tackles as he had zero tackle points in the season but, he aggregated 205 raid points in just 20 games to take the Bengal Warriors closer to their first title. Though he suffered an injury in the final phase of the tournament, his side managed to win the championship for him.
Maninder Singh played ruthless kabaddi in Season 7 to breach the 200 raid points milestone, besides finishing the season with an average of 10.25 points/match.
His 10 Super 10s and 6 Super Raids helped the Akshay Kumar-owned franchise a lot and next time Singh will look to stay fit until the final to ensure a successful title defense.
#4 Telugu Titans - Siddharth Sirish Desai
Matches - 22, Total Points Earned - 220, Most Points in a Match - 23
The Telugu Titans made the headlines by making the most expensive signing of Pro Kabaddi 2019 in the form of Siddharth Desai. The raider had made a name for himself while playing for U Mumba in Season 6 and the Hyderabad fans expected the same performance from Desai once again.
He started off the season in a disappointing manner as he could not garner much momentum. It seemed like he was under pressure of his price tag, however, he silenced all his critics with some exceptional performances in the second half of the tournament.
Such was the dominance of Desai that he scored just one point lesser than what he had scored in Season 6, despite being out of form in the first stage. He registered 10 Super 10s and executed 7 Super Raids to light up Pro Kabaddi 2019.
As always, the defenders and the support raiders of Telugu Titans could not support their lead raider as they crashed out of Pro Kabaddi 2019 in the league stage itself.
#3 Dabang Delhi K.C. - Naveen Kumar
Matches - 23, Total Points Earned - 303, Most Points in a Match - 19
It is surprising to note that though Naveen Kumar recorded an unbelievable 22 Super 10s in Pro Kabaddi 2019, he did not finish in the top 2 of the 'Most Raid Points' list. This indicates how tough the seventh season of Pro Kabaddi was. However, Kumar's consistent performances ensured that his team, Dabang Delhi K.C. reach their maiden Pro Kabaddi final in 2019.
The youngster amassed 301 raid points in Pro Kabaddi 2019 at an average of 13.08 raid points/match. He even took 2 tackle points besides executing 2 Super Raids.
His successful raid percentage of 63.77% demonstrates that Naveen Kumar does not like to put in a lot of empty raids. While Kumar won the hearts of the fans with his performances, he could not inspire Dabang Delhi K.C. to the championship in the final.
The raider will look to work harder ahead of the eighth season of the glamorous tournament and the team management may assign him the captaincy of the team next year. Also, it will be exciting to see how long his streak of Super 10s lasts.
#2 Patna Pirates - Pardeep Narwal
Matches - 22, Total Points Earned - 304, Most Points in a Match - 36
After his numbers witnessed a slight dip in Pro Kabaddi 2018, the captain of Patna Pirates, Pardeep Narwal bounced back like a champion in Pro Kabaddi 2019 to end the tournament as the second best player. He scored 302 raid points in the season at an average of 13.72 raid points/match.
Apart from his 15 Super 10s and 15 Super Raids, the record breaker lived up to his nickname and became the first player in Pro Kabaddi history to breach the 1,000-point mark. He even crossed the 1,110-point mark, despite not featuring in the inaugural edition of the league.
Narwal scored points with supreme ease but his teammates could not support him as Patna Pirates missed out on a spot in the next round for the second consecutive season.
The team's coach, Ram Mehar Singh will look to build a fresh squad in Season 8 as the search for Pardeep Narwal's supporting members continues.
#1 Bengaluru Bulls - Pawan Sehrawat
Matches - 24, Total Points Earned - 360, Most Points in a Match - 39
Deemed by many as the next big thing in kabaddi, Pawan Sehrawat entertained the fans with his fireworks in Pro Kabaddi 2019. The vice-captain of Bengaluru Bulls gave everything he had to make sure that Bengaluru Bulls do not lose their championship. However, just like Pardeep Narwal, the lack of support from other players denied the Bulls an entry in the final.
Sehrawat shattered multiple records this season which even included the record of scoring the most raid points in a single match. The stylish raider scored 39 raid points in a league match against Haryana Steelers.
He registered 18 Super 10s and executed 13 Super Raids this season. He even contributed 14 tackle points to the team's cause. Looking at how well he played this season, it is unlikely that the defenders will be able to stop him in the upcoming seasons of Pro Kabaddi as well.
Which player impressed you the most in Pro Kabaddi 2019? Share your answers in the comments section below.
