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Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League is back with its 4th season in the last 24 months and this time, it promises to be better, bigger and more entertaining than ever, with players from 12 different nationalities ready to battle it out in 7 different cities across the country.
All the franchises underwent a major squad revamp at the recently concluded Pro Kabaddi auctions in Mumbai with each team retaining only two of their previous players for the upcoming season.
The most pleasing aspect of the auctions was that the 5 most expensive players to be bought were defenders, which clearly shows the franchises’ inclination towards having a much more defence-oriented squad at their disposal.
Just like Castrol Activ Actibonds cling on to each other and offer continuous protection to the engine, enabling it to perform much better, defenders help give the team protection, stability and confidence, which the raiders then convert into points and eventually, wins.
Let us have a look at 5 defensive records that can be broken in Pro Kabaddi League season 4 -
Most successful tackles in a single season – 56 (Manjeet Chhillar)
Puneri Paltan skipper Manjeet Chhillar gathered a mammoth total of 56 successful tackles in the 3rd season of the Pro Kabaddi League side while helping his side to their 1st ever semi-final appearance in the process.
Chhillar, along with Ajay Thakur and Somvir Shekhar, left the Bengaluru Bulls’ squad to join the Paltan at the start of the 3rd season. The 29-year old led the team from the front and became the only player to gather 50 or more successful tackles in a single season twice.
His performances last year showed that there can be no real cap on how good defenders can be, and a season filled with defensive stars across all teams indicates that there is high chance we see a player record more than 56 successful tackles in season 4.
Lowest scoring encounter – 40 points (Patna Pirates 20–20 Bengal Warriors)
This record is a testimony to the two of the best defences (Patna Pirates and Bengal Warriors) at that time in the Pro Kabaddi League as both the franchises were able to cancel out each other on most of the occasions in what proved to be a thrilling encounter in match 28 of season 2.
Patna’s Sunil Kumar (4) and Amit Hooda (3) gathered the most tackle points in this clash while Bengal’s Sachin Khambe (2) and Nilesh Shinde masterminded their best defensive performance till date.
The Pirates had the services of season three’s best defender, Sandeep Narwal, who helped his team put together a brilliant, coordinated performance in defence to hold the Warriors to only 20 points.
With defence a priority this season, this record could very well be broken as well.
Most number of Super tackles in a single season – 7 (Jeeva Kumar and Ravinder Pahal)
Jeeva Kumar and Ravinder Pahal are the joint record holders for inflicting the most number of super tackles (7) in a single season. Pahal achieved the milestone in the 2nd season of Pro Kabaddi League, and Dabang Delhi’s Sandeep Dhull came closest to breaking it, with 6 super tackles to his name in the subsequent season.
Jeeva Kumar achieved that number in season two as well, and with him being the defensive lynchpin for U Mumba this season, he could very well be the defender who breaks this record.
With the teams opting for more proven defences for the upcoming season, the record for most number of super tackles can come under threat.
Lowest points by a team at half time – 5 (Jaipur Pink Panthers against Patna Pirates)
The Jaipur -based franchise own this unwanted record of scoring the lowest total by a team at half-time in any match in Pro Kabaddi League history, having been held to just 5 points in a match by the eventual champions, Patna Pirates, in season 3.
This record highlighted Patna’s defensive solidity throughout season 3, which eventually helped them to their 1st ever title. With a solid defence already a priority for the head coaches, this unique record can be broken in the 60 – match long season 4.
Most tackle points in a match – 10 (Surender Nada)
This is the record every defender would be after and has proved to be elusive to all of them thus far. With all the talented defenders fit and ready to fire this season, this record could potentially, finally be broken in the Pro Kabaddi League.
U Mumba’s Surender Nada went on a rampage against Patna Pirates in an all-important semi-final clash of season 2, gathering a whopping total of 10 tackle points in a single match.
The record has set a benchmark for all the other defenders in the league to accomplish this feat!
