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

Defending Pro Kabaddi League champions Patna Pirates concluded their home leg on a high as they registered a thrilling 29-27 win over their opponents from the second qualifier last season, the Bengal Warriors, and in the process also halted the spate of losses in front of the home crowd at the Patliputra Sports Complex in Patna.

The Pirates got their home leg off to a fantastic start with a dominating 41-30 win over the Pink Panthers but were soon hit by a roadblock as they nose-dived for the next four matches, losing four games in a row, including a 32-53 decimation at the hands of the Telugu Titans.

In a game that saw Rahul Chaudhari pick up 17 raid points, Pardeep Narwal picked up a wrist injury that affected a drop in his performance after which none of the other Patna raiders could step up to the plate.

In a bid to end their home campaign on a high, a Pardeep Narwal-less Pirates line-up appeared a hungry bunch and under the tutelage of Jaideep, who picked up a 'High-5', put the Bengal Warriors under the pump and carried their momentum all the way into the final minute, where they held their nerve to reign supreme.

All through the Patna leg, there were some impressive performances which stood out from the raiding front. Here are the top five raiders from the Patna leg.

#5 Sachin Tanwar - Gujarat Fortunegiants

Sachin Tanwar has his arm raised after picking a point

Sachin Tanwar's season until the Patna leg had come under the scanner, owing to the fact that the Fortunegiants' lead raider had failed to pick up a single 'Super-10' to his credit until he came across the Tamil Thalaivas.

Against the likes of Manjeet Chhillar and Sunil, Sachin took the onus to bring home the points and collected his first 'Super-10' of the season as he picked up 11 raid points from 14 raids and kept the scoreboard ticking.

In the next assignment against a power-packed defensive setup of the Puneri Paltan, Sachin was posed with a difficult task of raiding but stood tall and picked up his second 'Super-10' of the season to end the Patna leg with 21 raid points from two matches.

#4 Shrikant Jadhav - UP Yoddha

Gifted with pace and an ability to travel the court with ease, Jadhav essayed the role of a secondary raider to perfection under the captaincy of Prashant Kumar Rai, who was forced to settle as the second-best raider with Jadhav running through Dabang Delhi defense.

Ahead of the game, the Yoddha were dealt a blow as skipper Rishank Devadiga was forced to sit out of the contest, owing to an injury, which added more pressure on Shrikant Jadhav to camouflage Devadiga's absence.

In the company of Prashant Rai, Jadhav exuded confidence by luring tackles from the Delhi defense unit as the Joginder Narwal-led side was blown away by Jadhav's efficiency.

Veteran defenders Ravinder Pahal and Vishal Mane picked up just a solitary point while Joginder Narwal failed to register his name on the scoresheet, and Shrikant Jadhav's Super raid also featured as one of the top moments of the game.

#3 Pawan Sehrawat - Bengaluru Bulls

The Bengaluru Bulls have registered four wins from five games and one of the major driving forces for the Bulls' consistency is the purple patch of young raider Pawan Kumar Sehrawat, who has picked up 74 raid points from five matches and averages 14.8 raid points per game.

In the Bulls' recent assignment against the home team Patna Pirates, Pawan Sehrawat ran through the Patna defense like a hot knife through butter and almost single-handedly won the game for his side with 14 raid points.

In one particular raid, Pawan was cornered by the right corner chain but his athleticism came to the fore as he jumped over the chain, landed and tumbled across the mid-line to collect just one point. Pawan's effort to effect an all-out on the Pirates, as he wiped out three defenders on a single raid, was also singled out as a top moment in the game.

#2 Siddharth Desai - U Mumba

The lanky Siddharth Desai needs no introduction as his heroics in this season, also his debut season, has taken the league by storm. With five 'Super-10s' in six matches, Desai came into the contest against the Patna Pirates with a lot of hopes on his young shoulders and he delivered, with his unique style of picking up Super 10s with utmost ease.

Since U Mumba's opening game, Siddharth Desai has slotted into the role of the lead raider and once again, Desai displayed what he is capable of as he managed to continually pile the pressure on the Patna defense unit and picked up 14 raid points from 18 raids.

In the end, U Mumba won by just a solitary point but the spotlight fell on young Desai, who managed to sport a smile in the end, after a herculean effort of picking up 14 raid points and knocking the winds off Patna's sail.

#1 Rahul Chaudhari - Telugu Titans

Rahul Chaudhari found his rhythm against the Pirates

For a man of the stature of Rahul Chaudhari, the ex-skipper of the Telugu Titans had failed to pick up even a single 'Super-10', until he was pitted against the Patna Pirates and more importantly, was being compared with Pardeep Narwal.

Determined to make a big statement, Rahul Chaudhari stuck to his primary calling card, his famed combination of touch points laced with quick bonus points as the 'poster boy' of Indian kabaddi galloped away with a full plate of points and was fed by hasty tackles from the Patna defenders.

Targetting the cover defenders, Rahul Chaudhari appeared to have shut the doors on his poor form. Like a man on a mission, he lured the opposition defenders to commit themselves to weak tackles, as he fed on the errors and amassed 17 raid points in 23 raids and, in the process, also announced a return to his roaring form.

Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee