The Star Sports Pro Kabaddi has reached its halfway mark with the culmination of the Pune leg. The home team Puneri Paltan registered a win, a loss and two draws in their four matches while Patna Pirates continued their unbeaten run. U Mumba, meanwhile, won both of their games to sneak into the 3rd spot.
Despite the absence of star players from the teams due to the South Asian Games, several remarkable performances were witnessed at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex. Here, we take a look at the players who would make for the Best 7 based on their Pune leg performances:
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Pardeep Narwal (Patna Pirates)
The 19-year-old Pardeep continued his rich vein of form as he helped his side remain unbeaten with a draw and a win in the Pune leg. In Patna Pirates' first match, they went up against the home side Puneri Paltans, and still came away unscathed. That was thanks largely to Pardeep, who put in an exceptional performance; he chipped in with 11 raid points and 3 tackle points. He added another 11 raid points to his name in the victory against Delhi, helping Patna maintain their dominant unbeaten streak.
Surendra Singh (Puneri Paltan)
New inductee Surendra seems to be making a habit of amassing bonus points by the truckload. In him, Puneri Paltan have a surprise package - a raider who can assist Manjeet Chhillar and Ajay Thakur in trying times, and who can also make deep inroads on his own. Although the Paltan would have expected to gain more from their home leg, they’d be relieved that they lost just once - and Surendra had a big part to play in that. In their final match against Bengaluru Bulls, the 25-year-old notched up 8 raid points, 5 of them being bonus points.
Rishank Devadiga (U Mumba)
With 17 points in two games, Rishank ensured U Mumba maintained their winning run and reached the 3rd spot in the table. The 21-year-old did an impeccable job in both their matches - against Bengal and Pune. Rishank looked at ease playing the role of the central raider in the absence of Anup Kumar.
Fazel Atrachali (U Mumba)
In the absence of four U Mumba players, Iran's Fazel Atrachali finally got his moment in the spotlight - and he took it with both hands. The 23-year-old was a rock at the back, and the sight of him tackling down raiders through his brute strength was one to behold. With four points each in his two games, Fazel ensured the opposition raiders were never comfortable making inroads into the U Mumba defence.
Meraj Sheykh (Telugu Titans)
The Titans won their only match of the Pune leg - against season 1 champions Jaipur Pink Panthers - despite the absence of Rahul Chaudhari and Sukesh Hegde. There was one man who was chiefly responsible for the victory, and that was Iranian Meraj Sheykh. The 27-year-old turned on the style and put in an all-round effort against the Panthers, notching up 11 points. He made sure the team did not miss the absentees by filling in their boots admirably.
Manjeet Chillar (Puneri Paltan)
Manjeet Chhillar marshaled his troops well and was largely responsible for keeping his side disciplined in all their four matches. His side drew two matches and won one in front of their home crowd, and the 29-year-old ensured that Pune made up the gap to the top 4 by scoring 29 points. These draws against tough teams could prove to be decisive at the end, and help catapult Pune to the semis for the first time.
Jeeva Kumar (U Mumba)
The Pune Leg saw the teams amp up their attack rather than focus on defense. Quality defensive performances were hard to come by in many of the matches. U Mumba, however, kept their defence watertight and veteran Jeeva, who had a relatively poor start to the tournament, finally came into his own and set the platform for his team's wins. Jeeva performed strongly from the back and amassed six tackle points in two games in Pune. With two wins in their rivals' territory, U Mumba have now re-established themselves into familiar territory at the top.
