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Pro Kabaddi 2019 is entering its twilight with the last leg of the group stage set to kick off today. 5 teams have been knocked out as Jaipur Pink Panthers battle it out with UP Yoddha for the last playoffs spot with UP Yoddha being the favourite to claim the spot as they have 4 home games left.
There are some teams who you wouldn't have pegged on for qualifying while some strong teams on paper have failed to make the cut. This has been largely due to sides depending on a few players or the failure of a key player hampering the momentum and the strategy of a team as a whole.
On that note, let's take a look at 5 players, one from each of the knocked out teams, who have disappointed the most this season.
#5 Sachin Tanwar (Gujarat Fortune Giants)
After finishing the last 2 seasons as runners-up, the Gujarat Fortune Giants have endured a tough campaign this time around and have been knocked out of the tournament. Part of the reason has been the dip in the performance of their defence which was one of their biggest strengths in the past. Gujarat, whose defenders were usually at the top of the defending charts now find themselves in the 6th position when it comes to total tackle points.
But they were plagued by the lack of a raider who could consistently get them a Super 10 every game. They banked heavily on Sachin Tanwar to do that for them but the lanky raider has disappointed this season. Sachin has scored just 84 raid points in 16 games averaging just 5.25 raid points per match with just 2 Super 10s to his name.
Players like Rohit Gulia and Sonu Jaglan were forced to don the lead raider's role and they did yield some success on a few occasions. Sachin Tanwar has had a very disappointing season by his standards and his poor season is a major reason for Gujarat's poor campaign.
#4 Abozar Mighani (Telugu Titans)
Looking at his stats, you can't really tell that Abozar Mighani had a really poor season but that's the truth - the Iranian right corner had a season to forget. The Titans are sure to finish below the Top 9 and one of the main reasons has been the points they have conceded through their defence. They rank 4th for most points conceded and Abozar Mighani was one of the main culprits.
He has accumulated just 39 tackle points from 18 matches and attempted just 87 tackles of which 51 were unsuccessful. His tackle strike rate is at a sub-par 44.82% when compared to the 57.14% and 56.03% recorded in the previous two seasons. He often left his partner Vishal Bhardwaj in the left corner to struggle on his own and was very tentative about supporting tackles on the left-hand side.
This has been a disappointing season for both Abozar Mighani the defender as well as Abozar Mighani the captain with his side failing to make it to the Top 6.
#3 Jaideep (Patna Pirates)
51 tackle points from 21 games and an average of 2.47 tackle points per game don't sound bad for a defender from any team, let alone the Patna Pirates, a team which has struggled to pick up tackle points. Jaideep's presence is so vital to this team that the team's total defensive output depends on how confident he is and sadly, he hasn't been so convincing with the timing of his tackles.
At least half of the tackle points he scored this season don't really belong to him and the tackle was made successful only due to the efforts of other defenders in reining the raider back. He has made 65 unsuccessful tackles and conceded so many important points in Do-or-die raid situations failing to keep his calm.
Patna weren't able to revive Pardeep on most occasions and the defence did play a part in that. Being the leader of the defence after Surender Nada's injury, Jaideep should have shown more composure on many occasions and to think of it, Hadi Oshtorak in the right corner was much better. This was a disappointing season for Jaideep despite his points not suggesting the same.
#2 Manjeet Chillar (Tamil Thalaivas)
With 37 tackle points and 4 raid points from 15 games, Manjeet Chillar seems to have had a very good season and it did seem like that for the first few matches. But as the Thalaivas lost Ajay Thakur to injury, the lack of good leaders in the side plagued them and that's when Manjeet Chillar was expected to step in. But this leadership role didn't really suit him and that's when his season began to spiral downward.
His tackles became more and more reckless and his agility reduced. He often shifted positions between raids, disturbing the momentum of the younger players. It seemed like he was giving orders to the coach rather than listening to them. One disturbing fact was that on several occasions, he was seen blaming the youngsters for defensive errors when they were clearly his. His poor show of spirit and leadership is a major reason for the Thalaivas languishing at the bottom of the table.
Take, for example, the game against Patna Pirates which the Thalaivas lost 25-51. Manjeet 'attempted' 6 tackles but didn't get a single successful tackle. And towards the end of the match, he was pretty much going to the raider and touching him and sending him across the mid-line. This lack of intent and spirit from such a senior, reputed player affected the team a lot and despite the points, this has been Manjeet's worst season so far.
#1 Nitin Tomar (Puneri Paltan)
After being bought for a whopping ₹1.20 Crore at the auction, one would expect Nitin Tomar to do much better than what he has done this season. After missing the first few games due to injury, the raiding powerhouse's season hit an all-time low as he managed to pick up just 58 raid points from 14 games averaging just 4.14 raid points per match.
He lost the spring in his step and the pace in his running hand touch step and even the physical brunt which helped him escape with ease reduced this season. The team also lacked a leader in the raiding department and that's why despite the efforts of Manjeet and young Pankaj Mohite, the Paltan sit a disappointing 8th in the points table.
The stats clearly point out the lack of intent from Nitin as he put in just 130 raids this season. ast season, he played just 11 matches but picked up 102 points putting in 191 raids and this lack of confidence clearly shows his decline. This has been a disappointing season from Nitin and he'll want to take some time and reflect on this season and come back strong next season.
