Pro Kabaddi 2019: Top 5 defenders from the Delhi leg

Dabang Delhi K.C. improved their defense in the Delhi leg.
Dabang Delhi K.C. improved their defense in the Delhi leg.

The sixth week of Pro Kabaddi 2019 was held at Thyagaraj Sports Complex, Delhi. It culminated with the hosts Dabang Delhi K.C. ending the leg as the most successful team at home so far in the league. The action moves to Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru as a part of Bengaluru Bulls' home leg.

Dabang Delhi K.C. prevailed over Bengaluru Bulls (33-31), UP Yoddha (36-27), U Mumba (40-24), and Patna Pirates (38-35) to remain unbeaten at their home. They have been one of the most consistent sides this season.

Star raider Naveen Goyat was phenomenal in the offense with four back-to-back Super-10s. The corner duo of Ravinder Pahal and Joginder Narwal led a formidable defense to provide a balance to the team.

Apart from the hosts, Haryana Steelers also remained unbeaten in Delhi leg with two victories in two outings. Telugu Titans, Puneri Paltan, Bengal Warriors, UP Yoddha and Bengaluru Bulls shared one win each to their name.

Jaipur Pink Panthers, U Mumba, Tamil Thalaivas, Gujarat Fortune Giants, and Patna Pirates failed to win their respective matches in the Delhi leg.

After the culmination of the Delhi leg, let's have a look at the top five defenders from the sixth week of Pro Kabaddi 2019.


#5 Sumit (UP Yoddha)

Sumit Sangwan has led the defense of UP Yoddha.
Sumit Sangwan has led the defense of UP Yoddha.

Matches Played - 2, Total Tackle Points - 8

Sumit Sangwan has emerged as one of the finds for UP Yoddha in Season 7. He has led the defense as a stalwart from the left corner and has supported his skipper Nitesh Kumar brilliantly in the tackles with his beautiful diving holds.

UP Yoddha faced the hosts Dabang Delhi K.C. in their first match of the Delhi leg. Sumit scored three tackle points in seven attempts and finished as the top scorer in UP's defense. The other defenders failed to provide support to Sumit as UP Yoddha lost the match (36-27).

UP faced Puneri Paltan in the second match of the Delhi leg as Sumit scored an outstanding High 5 to dominate the offense. He scored five tackle points out of 8 attempts. Courtesy of his brilliant defending, UP Yoddha managed to win the match 35-30.

Sumit stands at the 3rd spot in the total tackle points tally with 38 tackle points in 11 matches at an average of 3.45 tackle points. He has attained three High 5s this season.

#4 Mahender Singh (Bengaluru Bulls)

Mahender Singh is the top scorer for the Bulls' defense.
Mahender Singh is the top scorer for the Bulls' defense.

Matches Played - 2, Total Tackle Points - 9

After missing out on a few matches, Mahender Singh joined the team on the first day of the Delhi leg and showed an epic comeback yet again for the Bengaluru Bulls. He quickly capitalized on the opportunity and aided the defense well.

Bengaluru Bulls faced the hosts Dabang Delhi K.C. in the opening match of the Delhi leg. As it was the Pawan Sehrawat show in the offense, Mahender Singh scored three tackle points in 4 attempts. He tackled Chandran Ranjit twice along with Vijay to support Amit Sheoran who got four tackle points. Unfortunately, Bengaluru Bulls lost the match 31-33.

The Bulls faced Jaipur Pink Panthers the very next day where the team beat the Panthers 41-30 courtesy of an all-round performance. Mahender Singh scored six tackle points in 8 attempts and stopped Jaipur's offense from scoring any points at all.

Mahender Singh stands at the 5th spot with 31 tackle points in just nine matches at an average of 3.44 tackle points. He has scored 2 High-5s this season so far.

#3 Joginder Narwal (Dabang Delhi K.C.)

Joginder Narwal stands at 6th spot in most tackle points tally.
Joginder Narwal stands at 6th spot in most tackle points tally.

Matches Played - 4, Total Tackle Points - 12

Skipper Joginder Narwal is having a memorable season and has led his team Dabang Delhi K.C. to the top of the points table in the mid-stages of the season. He has urged all players to show their potential as a unit.

Joginder Narwal scored two tackle points each against Bengaluru Bulls, UP Yoddha and Patna Pirates. He scored a solo High-5 against U Mumba with six tackle points to his name. His brilliant holds from the left corner prevented the offense of U Mumba from scoring raid points.

The corner duo of Ravinder Pahal and Joginder Narwal became one of the prime reasons for Dabang Delhi's success in their home leg. They have combined their tackles with Ravinder taking the call at first, which has been beautiful to watch so far.

Joginder Narwal has scored 31 tackle points in 11 matches at an average of 2.82 tackle points. He has a single High-5 in the season so far.

#2 Vishal Bhardwaj (Telugu Titans)

Vishal Bhardwaj has been outstanding in Telugu Titans' defense.
Vishal Bhardwaj has been outstanding in Telugu Titans' defense.

Matches Played - 2, Total Tackle Points - 13

The current holder of the orange arm-band, Vishal Bhardwaj improved by leaps and bounds after a slow start in the initial few matches. He became a stalwart in the Telugu Titans' defense where he executed breath-taking ankle and diving holds to score two back-to-back High 5s.

Vishal Bhardwaj's eight tackle points against Jaipur Pink Panthers saw them dominate the-then table-toppers and forced them to concede the match to the Titans. Vishal stopped the dominant offense brigade that included Deepak Niwas Hooda, Deepak Narwal and Nilesh Salunke as Jaipur surrendered to the Titans 21-24.

Telugu Titans faced Puneri Paltan in their second match of the Delhi leg where Vishal scored his 2nd successive High-5 against the flamboyant raiders of Pune. He scored five points that included two super tackles to his name. The Titans lost the match against Pune 27-34.

Vishal Bhardwaj has 42 tackle points in 11 matches at an average of 3.82 tackle points. He has achieved four High-5s in the season thus far.

#1 Ravinder Pahal (Dabang Delhi K.C.)

Ravinder Pahal has been phenomenal in his tackles.
Ravinder Pahal has been phenomenal in his tackles.

Matches Played - 4, Total Tackle Points - 21

In what was a dominant outing at the home leg, Ravinder Pahal enjoyed an epic comeback in his momentum as he led the defense of Dabang Delhi single-handedly. He was outstanding right from the first match at home against the Bengaluru Bulls where he scored four tackle points.

Ravinder Pahal achieved his first High-5 of the season against a formidable offense of UP Yoddha. He went on to score eight tackle points against the young raiding brigade of U Mumba at a perfect success strike rate of 100%. Ravinder also performed decently against Patna Pirates with four tackle points in seven attempts.

Ravinder Pahal has jumped to the 4th spot in the most tackle points tally of the league. He has 34 tackle points in 11 matches at an average of 3.09 tackle points. He has scored 2 High-5s which came at his home leg so far this season.

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Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee
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