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Star-studded unit of Pro Kabaddi 2019, Tamil Thalaivas failed to live up to the expectations in their home leg of the season. Ajay Thakur's army lost 3 of their 4 home games while their encounter against Puneri Paltan ended in a draw.
The Chennai fans were left disappointed by their team as there was no major improvement in the team's position on the points table after the home leg. They currently hold the 8th position with just 25 points from 10 matches. One of the key reasons behind their failure was the absence of their star all-rounder, Manjeet Chhillar in 3 games.
The team's captain, Ajay Thakur too could not light up the Chennai leg with his raiding skills. Here's a look at the player ratings of Tamil Thalaivas from Chennai leg -
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#1 Ajay Thakur - 4/10
Matches - 4, Raid Points - 14, Average Raid Points - 3.5
The player who was scoring Super 10s every now and then for Tamil Thalaivas, Ajay Thakur has taken a backseat ever since Rahul Chaudhari has joined the team. He has reduced his raid attempts which has resulted in the decrease of his raid points.
In the Chennai leg, he could score only 14 raid points with his best performance coming against Jaipur Pink Panthers. Besides, Thakur's 14 unsuccessful raids would be an alarming sign for the Thalaivas.
#2 Shabeer Bappu - 3/10
Matches - 3, Raid Points - 3, Average Raid Points - 1
Shabeer Bappu featured in the starting seven of the home side only once before local lad V. Ajith Kumar took his place. In the only encounter he played, Bappu scored 3 raid points in his 9 raids.
He came in as a substitute versus Pune and Mumbai but could not contribute anything to the team's score.
#3 V. Ajith Kumar - 8/10
Matches - 4, Raid Points - 19, Average Raid Points - 4.75
V. Ajith Kumar, who is playing his debut season, was the surprise performer for Tamil Thalaivas. His 19 raid points helped him become the 2nd best raider of the team while his last moment super raid saved Tamil Thalaivas from a defeat against Puneri Paltan.
He impressed against Bengaluru with 4 raid points while he also scored 5 points versus U Mumba.
#4 Mohit Chhillar - 6/10
Matches - 4, Tackle Points - 10, Average Tackle Points - 2.5
Right corner, Mohit Chhillar scored 3 points each against U Mumba, Jaipur Pink Panthers and Puneri Paltan. Though he started off the home leg with just 1 tackle point versus the defending champions, he bounced back in style with 9 points in the next 3 games.
A lot more was expected from Chhillar but the former PKL winner could not score big in the home leg.
#5 Ran Singh - 5/10
Matches - 4, Tackle Points - 9, Average Tackle Points - 2.25
Ran Singh kicked off the home leg by taking 4 points each against Bengaluru Bulls and Puneri Paltan. While one of his 4 points against the Bulls came via his raids, all of the 4 points versus Pune came because of his tackling skills.
Unfortunately, the Punjabi all-rounder could not carry on his form in the 2nd phase of the leg as he could only add 2 points to his team's score versus U Mumba after failing to open his account against Jaipur.
#6 Manjeet Chhillar - 3/10
Matches - 1, Tackle Points - 0, Average Tackle Points - 0
The team's lead defender, Manjeet Chhillar, who had been in terrific form prior to the home leg, missed 3 of the 4 matches Tamil Thalaivas played in Chennai. In the solitary encounter he played, Manjeet could take only one bonus point as he failed to open his account in the touch points and tackle points department.
#7 Ajeet - 2/10
Matches - 3, Tackle Points - 2, Average Tackle Points - 0.67
The right cover position has been an area of concern for the Tamil Thalaivas. Their first choice right cover, Ajeet failed miserably in the home leg as he could take only 2 tackle points in 3 matches. Besides, he even committed 6 unsuccessful tackles that mounted the pressure on his team further.
Ultimately, Ajeet was dropped from the team because of his poor performances.
#8 Vineet Sharma - 6/10
Matches - 3, Tackle Points - 5, Raid Points - 3
All-rounder Vineet Sharma replaced Manjeet Chhillar in the team for the last 3 matches and did not disappoint much with his performance. He had a 100 percent tackle strike rate in the first match he played where he scored 5 points versus Jaipur but he ended the home leg on a low with zero points to his name against U Mumba.
#9 Rahul Chaudhari - 7/10
Matches - 4, Raid Points - 22, Average Raid Points - 5.5
The Showman of Tamil Thalaivas, Rahul Chaudhari failed in the first home match as his coach had to call him back to the bench in the 2nd half but the talismanic raider returned like a champion in the 2nd game, scoring 8 points and helping his team tie the match against Puneri Paltan.
In match number 3, Rahul emerged as the best raider of his team with 6 raid points but his efforts could not take the Thalaivas over the line. The same happened in the fixture against U Mumba where he once again proved to be the best raider of his side only for the Tamil Thalaivas to lose the match.
One of the key reasons why Rahul could not register a single Super 10 in the home leg was his failure to score points in the last 5 minutes. Skipper Ajay Thakur showed faith in Rahul's abilities but the Bijnor-born raider could not fulfill his responsibility.
Overall Team Rating - 4/10
