5 talking points from Vizag leg of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi Season 3

The first leg of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League concluded with the hosts suffering a shock defeat at the hands of the Bengal Warriors. Despite the loss, the Telugu Titans find themselves at the top of the pile thanks to two wins from their home leg. Dabang Delhi sit bottom of the table after losing both their encounters so far.The Vizag Leg started off with a real cracker which saw defending champions U Mumba just edging out the Telugu Titans, before last year’s runners-up Bengaluru Bulls began with a win over Dabang Delhi. A revolution in results didn’t take place for a revamped Puneri Paltan side, who went down by a point to hosts Telugu Titans. Jaipur Pink Panthers inflicted the season’s first defeat on U Mumba with a solid win, before going down to the Patna Pirates a day later. The Telugu Titans recorded their second successive win when they crushed Dabang Delhi, only to taste defeat at the hands of the Bengal Warriors on the final day of the leg.Here are the 5 talking points from the Vizag leg of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League:

#1 Season 3 could be the most competitive so far

This season of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi has been evenly contested

Surprises and shocks were always around the corner in the first leg of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League. Analysing the performances and the results from the Vizag leg, it seems that this could be a pattern of this season. Teams like U Mumba, Telugu Titans, Puneri Paltan and Dabang Delhi were perceived to be the stronger of the sides and thus favourites for making it to the semi-finals. But the Vizag leg has certainly upset that pecking order and given us a reality check.

The gap between teams that appeared on paper doesn’t exist in reality and all the teams are very evenly matched. The results have reflected that. U Mumba who were phenomenal against the Titans, came unstuck against the Jaipur Pink Panthers a day later, who came up short against the Patna Pirates. So far it looks like a league where any team can beat every other team and that primes us for a highly competitive season this time around.

#2 Rahul Chaudhari rampant as ever

Rahul Chaudhari in action for Telugu Titans

Rahul Chaudhari, the man often referred to as the poster boy of Indian kabaddi, is also a real darling among the Telugu Titans faithful. With a home leg to start off proceedings, Rahul had plenty of expectations to fulfil right from the outset. Racking up 21 raid points in the four games so far, the tall and well-built raider hasn’t disappointed at all and has led the charge for the Titans at vital times.

Rahul’s late charge almost earned the Telugu Titans something against Champions U Mumba. However, a day later, the youngster’s late show bore fruits as his points off the last raid of the game was enough to clinch the game. But the Telugu Titans skipper saved his best for Dabang Delhi when his 10 raid points powered the Titans to a 45-34 win. The season has got off to a perfect start for Rahul Chaudhari and it needs to be seen how better it can get.

#3 Ravinder Pahal and Dabang Delhi struggle

Ravinder Pahal

Dabang Delhi added to their squad from last season and were expected to be among the contenders for the crown. But the Dabangs have made the worst possible start to their season, losing both the games in the first leg of the competition at Vizag. It was evident from the start that Dabang Delhi would rely heavily on their skipper Ravinder Pahal for a solid defensive show in games and unfortunately for Dabang Delhi, Ravinder is yet to get going in the competition and had a poor leg in Vizag.

Ravinder Pahal’s lack of form has clearly affected Dabang Delhi’s defensive displays as it was their defensive aspect that let them down in both matches in the Vizag leg. Last season's best defender struggled especially in the game against hosts Telugu Titans scoring just three points in the entire game. That reflected in his side’s poor defensive show as a mere four tackle points in the game, meant they succumbed to their second successive defeat.

#4 Puneri Paltan lose a close encounter again

Manjeet Chhillar (C) tried hard, but was unable to prevent Puneri Paltan from suffering a loss

Another Puneri Paltan game and sadly yet another defeat for the beleaguered franchise who have found wins really hard to come by in Star Sports Pro Kabaddi. The Paltan underwent a complete overhaul and with signings like Manjeet Chhillar, Ajay Thakur, Deepak Niwas Hooda and Somvir Shekhar, the bad days appeared to be behind the Paltan.

But, Ashok Shinde’s men fell to a narrow defeat at the hands of the Telugu Titans, thus continuing Puneri Paltan’s trend of losing out tight games. Last season Puneri Paltan surrendered numerous points from winning positions in the dying minutes of matches and their defeat against the Telugu Titans was no different as Rahul Chaudhari stole the match away from them with his last raid. The trend will worry Coach Ashok Shinde and he will want his team to do away with it sooner rather than later.

#5 U Mumbas Jaipur Pink Panthers bogey continues

Anup Kumar is tackled by an alert Rajesh Narwal as other Jaipur Pink Panthers players look on

It is not often that U Mumba lose a game of kabaddi, but when they do it is usually against their rivals from Jaipur. The Jaipur Pink Panthers have beaten U Mumba thrice in the tournament's history, while drawing one encounter with the defending champions. The biggest defeat for U Mumba though came in the final of season 1 when the Pink Panthers beat U Mumba in their own backyard to claim the maiden crown.

Since then Bhaskaran Edachery’s men have never really enjoyed games against the Pink Panthers, who always seem to save their best for the Mumbai outfit. Even in the latest edition, the Pink Panthers seemed to have an edge over U Mumba as they handed them their first defeat since clinching the title six months ago. The team from Mumbai would hate the sight of the Pink Panthers as their fans would wonder how long would this bogey continue.