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The sixth week of Pro Kabaddi 2019, which took place at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex in Delhi saw the home team become the first side in this edition to have maintained a 100% win record in their home leg.
Dabang Delhi began their campaign at home on a high with a thrilling two-point win over the defending champions Bengaluru Bulls. Joginder Narwal's men then defeated both UP Yoddha and U Mumba before Naveen Kumar's special performance took them over the line against Patna Pirates on the final day in Delhi.
After an outstanding home leg, Delhi now sit pretty at the top of the points table while three-time champions Patna Pirates are languishing at the bottom of the table after a dismal campaign thus far.
However, with almost more than a month to go for the league stage to be completed, most teams are still in with a chance to make it to the playoffs. Hence, we could see several high-intensity games in the coming days as teams will look to gain momentum in the leadup to the playoff stages.
Although raiders could win you games from unlikely situations, a clinical performance is not possible if the defenders in a team are not up to the mark and here are five defenders with the most tackle points after the end of the Delhi Leg.
#5 Fazel Atrachali (U Mumba)
U Mumba captain Fazel Atrachali has picked up 31 points from the 11 games that he has played so far. U Mumba played just a solitary game in the Delhi leg in which the Iranian left-corner picked up four points from the eight tackles that he attempted. However, he could not help his team win the game as the hosts Dabang Delhi proved to be too good for the season two champions.
A surprising statistic in Fazel's tally so far is that he has failed to secure a High 5 in any of the games that he has played till now. His average now stands at 2.54 tackle points per game and if U Mumba have to do well in the coming days, he will need to be at his best.
#4 Ravinder Pahal (Dabang Delhi)
Ravinder Pahal enjoyed a successful home-leg which saw him return with 21 tackle points from the 4 games that he played at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex in Delhi. Pahal started well against the Bulls with 4 vital tackle points and secured a High 5 against UP Yoddha in the next game.
He was in fine form against U Mumba as he blazed away the opposition with 8 points while he finished on a high with a 4-point display against the Patna Pirates.
The experienced defender had secured just 13 points from 7 games before the Delhi leg and after his extraordinary performances on home-turf, he is No.4 on this list with 34 points from 11 games.
#3 Sumit
In just his first Pro Kabaddi League season, UP Yoddha's Sumit has shown immense maturity and talent with his performances on the mat. His performances have helped his squad do well defensively on the mat despite the inconsistency of their captain Nitesh Kumar.
The youngster has done well to secure 38 points from the 11 games that he has been a part so far. His tally includes three High 5s at an impressive tackle strike-rate of 53.52%. He was decent in the Delhi Leg during which he amassed 8 points from two matches that he featured in the capital.
#2 Sandeep Kumar Dhull (Jaipur Pink Panthers)
Jaipur Pink Panthers lost both their games at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex in the Delhi leg. Sandeep Dhull was not in the best of form as he added just 6 points to his tally during this leg. After the Chennai leg, Jaipur's left-corner was at the top of this list but Vishal Bharadwaj's fine performances meant that Dhull was pushed down the list.
Although Sandeep was brilliant in the first few games of this season, his performances have fizzled out of late. He has 39 tackle points to his name right now and if Jaipur look to shake off this rough phase, the diving thigh-hold specialist has to do better from the left-corner in the coming games.
#1 Vishal Bharadwaj (Telugu Titans)
Vishal Bharadwaj was No.4 on this list after the Chennai leg but after two brilliant performances during the Delhi leg of the tournament, he is now leading the list of the maximum tackle points secured by a player this season so far.
Especially against the Jaipur Pink Panthers, Vishal was brutal in the left-corner as he notched up 8 points from this game. In the next encounter too, despite ending up on the losing side, the former captain of the Telugu Titans impressed with a High 5.
With 42 tackle points from 11 games at an average of 3.18 points per game, Vishal looks to be in good touch and his form will be vital for Telugu Titans to overturn their fortunes this season.
