Pro Kabaddi League 2018: Top 5 defenders from the Patna leg

The defending Pro Kabaddi League champions Patna Pirates finished their home leg in Patna on a positive note after overcoming the Bengal Warriors in a last-minute thriller on the final day at the Patliputra Sports Complex in Patna. The win brought an end to a streak of four losses on the trot in front of the home crowd.

The Pirates had started off their home leg with an imposing win over the Season 1 champions Jaipur Pink Panthers with a 41-30 scoreline. However, post this win, all things went downhill as the losses piled on for the Patna Pirates on their home turf. Two of their losses were close ones against U Mumba and Bengaluru Bulls but they were dominated by the Rahul Chaudhari's Telugu Titans in a 53-32 loss. The other loss came against a Haryana Steelers side who were without their captain Monu Goyat with a 32-43 scoreline.

To make matters worse for the Patna Pirates, their star raider Pardeep Narwal suffered a wrist injury that saw him lose his consistency in two matches and ultimately was benched for the last match of the home leg.

The defence of the Patna Pirates was marshalled by the impressive Jaideep at the left corner who was fairly consistent in the backline and finished with a 'High 5' on the night against the Bengal Warriors. With that feat, Jaideep currently leads the scoreboard for the highest number of tackle points this season with 33 points in ten matches played.

There were a considerable amount of good performances at the Patliputra Sports Complex and we take a look at the top five defenders from the Patna leg.

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#5 Ruturaj Shivaji Koravi - Gujarat Fortunegiants

The defender was a pivotal figure in Maharashtra's victory in the Senior National Kabaddi Championships earlier this year and has fit in comfortably in Manpreet Singh's Gujarat Fortunegiants setup.

He took the place of Abozar Mighani at the right corner from last year and tried his best to produce the level of performance that the Iranian did. Ruturaj Shivaji Koravi scored seven tackle points in Gujarat's two matches against the Tamil Thalaivas and Puneri Paltan, and helped the side maintain their winning form. He was always a danger on the right corner for the raiders and also combined well with his fellow corner defender Sachin Vittala to produce the tackle points for Gujarat.

Tackle Points - 7 points in 2 matches

#4 Fazel Atracheli - U Mumba

Fazel Atracheli (r) has led the U Mumba side well

U Mumba's biggest buy and the first crorepati of this season has been on a tear on the left corner for the former champions from Maharashtra.

Fazel Atracheli has formed a formidable defensive combination with veteran Dharmaraj Cheralathan in the U Mumba defence. The Iranian is fiercely strong in his tackles and dashes and all the raiders in the league are wary of his power and agility.

Against his former side Patna Pirates, the U Mumba skipper managed to score six tackle points as they won with a slender margin in Patna. Fazel has racked up a total of 29 tackle points in seven matches this season and is one of the top performing defenders this season with a presence on the leaderboard on the third spot.

Tackle Points - 6 points in 1 match

#3 Vishal Bhardwaj - Telugu Titans

Vishal Bhardwaj has been the best defender for Telugu Titans

Telugu Titans skipper Vishal Bhardwaj has arguably formed the best defensive combination so far this season with fellow corner defender Abozar Mighani.

Bhardwaj has been one of the most consistent defenders this season so far and has manned the Telugu Titans' left corner position with authority. He is amongst the top five defenders this season with a tally of 26 points from six matches, which highlights a great average of 4.33 tackle points per match. His ankle holds are a thing of beauty and he has been able to execute them with good precision for the Titans this season.

In their dominant win over Patna Pirates, Bhardwaj ended up with a massive haul of 9 tackle points from eight raids, which included two Super Tackles as well.

Tackle Points - 9 points in 1 match

#4 Vikas Kale - Patna Pirates

Vikas Kale has slowly gotten into his element this season

Another member of the Nationals-winning Maharashtra side, Vikas Kale has been a steady part of the defending champions Patna Pirates this season.

The well-built defender plays in the right cover position and has developed a knack for nicely timed dashes and blocks. He has been a good support to the left corner Jaideep and the two have done well for the Pirates.

In the home leg in Patna, Vikas Kale managed to score 13 tackle points in six matches and will hope to carry on his form as the season progresses. Kale had a couple of matches where he was unable to get any points on the board but his performance was never unnoticed with the assists that he provided to the Patna Pirates defenders.

Tackle Points - 13 points in 6 matches

#1 Jaideep - Patna Pirates

Jaideep is the left corner defender for Patna Pirates

Jaideep was one of the players retained by the Patna Pirates ahead of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 6 auction. He has delivered on his promise so far and stayed true to the faith from the management.

Jaideep was the best defender on the mat for the Patna Pirates in their home leg and amassed a total of 23 points in six matches. He managed to score three 'High 5' performances and scored well in every match, despite the poor form of the team.

He has proven to be a leader in the Patna Pirates defence and has managed to get them back on the right track on the last day of the home leg after a run of four losses on the trot following the first day in Patna.

Tackle Points - 23 points in 6 matches