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After 132 exciting matches of Pro Kabaddi 2019, the playoffs, termed as the 'World's Toughest Week' will be held from 14th October at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad. Six teams are set to compete for the prestigious Pro Kabaddi title.
Dabang Delhi K.C. and Bengal Warriors consolidated the top 2 spots in the points table as they have directly qualified to play the semi-finals. UP Yoddha, U Mumba, Haryana Steelers, and Bengaluru Bulls will have to go through the eliminators to fight the pre-qualified semi-finalists of the season.
The semi-finals will take place on 16th October with the final match on 19th October. The remaining six teams - Jaipur Pink Panthers, Patna Pirates, Puneri Paltan, Gujarat Fortune Giants, Telugu Titans, and Tamil Thalaivas couldn't make it to the playoffs despite individual performances from their star players.
As the fans await the action-packed playoffs, let's take a look at the best possible starting seven from the teams that got eliminated this season.
Right Corner - Amit Hooda (Jaipur Pink Panthers)
Amit Hooda had a homecoming when he faced Jaipur Pink Panthers in Season 7 as his heroics took them to the finals back in Season 4. He formed a partnership with Sandeep Dhull as this corner duo took Jaipur Pink Panthers to seven victories out of the first nine fixtures in the initial days of the tournament.
Amit Hooda started his campaign well with a High-5 in Jaipur Pink Panthers' inaugural match against U Mumba. He went on to score 44 tackle points in 16 outings at a strike rate of 53.61% He got injured in the mid-season, and missed out on a couple of matches for his side.
The defence became relatively loose in Hooda's absence as his replacement in Santhapanaselvam didn't do justice to his caliber. It resulted in Jaipur Pink Panthers getting eliminated for a third consecutive year. Amit ended his campaign with a High-5 against Tamil Thalaivas in his last match this season.
Right In - Rohit Gulia (Gujarat Fortune Giants)
It was a terrible outing for Gujarat Fortune Giants as they missed their opportunity to qualify this time after appearing in the finals for two seasons in a row. One of their positives, however, was Rohit Gulia's all-round show as it was personal best performance this season.
Rohit Gulia scored 132 raid points in 22 matches at an average of 6 raid points per game. He grabbed four Super-10s with a successful raid percentage of 41.9% to his name. Gulia also aided the defence when it mattered the most with ten tackle points, including a super tackle as well.
He got rewarded with the captaincy hat in the mid-season after coach Manpreet Singh got impressed with his consistency in the raiding. Gulia ended his campaign as the top-scorer for Gujarat Fortune Giants and the second-best all-rounder of the seventh season.
Right Cover - Surjeet Singh (Puneri Paltan)
Despite Puneri Paltan's lackluster outing right from the start of the tournament, skipper Surjeet Singh led his troops superbly by setting the record for the most High-5s by any defender in history (27), surpassing Manjeet Chhillar with 23 High-5s.
Seven of them came in this season, which is the highest by the end of league stage of the tournament. Surjeet Singh had a decent outing with 63 tackle points in 21 matches at an average of 2.66 tackle points per game. He gained seven super tackles with a total strike rate of 51.21% by the end of his campaign.
Surjeet Singh couldn't deliver in the first few fixtures but gained consistency in his performance later on. The master of dashes didn't find support from the other defensive units due to continuous changes in almost every encounter. However, Surjeet's personal performance was at par this season.
Center - Pardeep Narwal (Patna Pirates)
'Record-breaker' Pardeep Narwal was on fire for Patna Pirates and broke many records in the seventh season. He carried the team's offence single-handedly by scoring 67.56% of Patna Pirates' raid points this season.
Pardeep Narwal became the first player to cross 1,000 and eventually 1,100 raid points as the only player to do so in history. He also achieved 50 Super-10s along with 50 super raids in this edition. Pardeep also became the first raider to cross 300 raid points in a single season of Pro Kabaddi twice.
Pardeep Narwal went on to score 302 raid points in 22 matches at an average of 13.73 raid points per game. He equaled his 34 raid pointer record this season against Bengal Warriors as well. With 15 Super-10s and 15 super raids, Pardeep was the lone warrior for his team as no one aided him to take Patna Pirates towards the playoffs.
Left Cover - Parvesh Bhainswal (Gujarat Fortune Giants)
Gujarat Fortune Giants's defence which was rock-solid in the past two years failed to deliver this time due to which they couldn't make it to the playoffs in Season 7. The cover duo of Parvesh Bhainswal and Sunil Kumar showed great individual efforts but didn't work well as a unit.
Parvesh Bhainswal ended his campaign as the leading scorer in the tackle points tally for Gujarat Fortune Giants. He didn't have the best of seasons in comparison to what it was last year. Parvesh could only manage 55 tackle points in 22 matches at an average of 2.5 tackle points per game. He scored four High-5s and three super tackles this time around.
Parvesh managed to show consistency in his outing this season with contributions from him but didn't find any support from the corners of the team. Sunil Kumar didn't play the remaining matches as Gujarat Fortune Giants were eliminated for the first time.
Left In - Siddharth Desai (Telugu Titans)
The emerging player of Season 6, 'Bahubali' Siddharth Desai, became the most expensive player in Season 7 at the price of 1.45 crores paid by Telugu Titans. He had a silent start to the season due to his injury but capitalized well later on as the leading raid points' scorer for the Titans.
Siddharth Desai scored 217 raid points in 22 matches at an average of 9.87 raid points per game. He attained ten Super-10s along with seven super raids in his second season and carried the team's offense without prior support from the other raiders. Siddharth scored his season's best score against Bengaluru Bulls, scoring 23 raid points in what was a losing cause for his team.
Siddharth Desai worked on his injury and executed some breath-taking moves. He didn't have a memorable season as Titans failed to qualify for the playoffs but ensured his importance as a player on whom the team can bank upon every time in the offence.
Left Corner - Sandeep Kumar Dhull (Jaipur Pink Panthers)
Sandeep Dhull kept the orange arm-band for the most part in the seventh season of Pro Kabaddi. He remained as the top defender for Jaipur Pink Panthers for a second-straight season and improved his stats from last year's performance as well.
The ankle-hold specialist gained 73 tackle points in 22 matches at a staggering average of 3.32 tackle points per game. He achieved 5 High-5s with seven super tackles to his name as the leader of the defence and showed his intent by taking bold risks with his back holds and dives.
However, it wasn't a memorable outing for Dhull as he gave away many unsuccessful attempts in the concluding matches. He could have scored more, given that his tackle strike rate was 48.99% this season. Still, his heroics were crucial as he attained the second spot in the tackle points tally after the league stage.
