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The action shifts to Mumbai as the Hyderabad leg of PKL 2019 came to an end with a clinical Patna Pirates beating the home side Telugu Titans 34-22 to make it 4 out of 4 defeats for the Titans. They suffered losses to U Mumba, Tamil Thalaivas, Dabang Delhi KC and Patna Pirates and have a lot to worry about, especially about the lackluster performance of their defense and prized buy Siddharth Desai.
They lost 25-31 first to U Mumba and then were comprehensively beaten by the Tamil Thalaivas in their next fixture. They came close to victory against Dabang Delhi thanks to Suraj Desai's stunning debut but lost 34-33 in a thrilling encounter before losing to the Pirates on Friday.
The first 11 matches have seen some cracking encounters as the clash between Dabang Delhi and Tamil Thalaivas stands out with Delhi snatching one point in the end to beat the Thalaivas 30-29. This season has been very tough for raiders as the defensive units of most teams have figured out plans for the star raiders.
So, to shine in this tough situation it isn't an easy task for a raider and, on that note, let's take a look at the top 5 raiders from the Hyderabad Leg of Pro Kabaddi 2019.
Honorable Mentions: Abhishek Singh, Rahul Chuahdari, Pawan Sehrawat and Pardeep Narwal.
Note: Ranking is not based just on total points scored but also based on other factors like Not Out% and Average points.
#5 Mohammad Nabibakhsh (Bengal Warriors)
1 Match- 1 Unsuccessful Raid- 10 points
Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibakhsh made a stellar debut for the Bengal Warriors scoring a Super 10 in his very first game for the side. The Iranian all-rounder shone solely as a raider and despite stepping out of bounds in his first raid, Nabibakhsh was never tackled again and scored 10 points including a stunning Super Raid as Bengal convincingly trounced U.P Yoddha.
The very confidence with which Nabibakhsh raided speaks volumes of his talent and having made an impact on the international circuit, he's all set to revel in the PKL as well. This great start makes him a player to watch out for and his partnership with Maninder Singh will be a key factor on which the Warriors will depend.
#4 Deepak Niwas Hooda (Jaipur Pink Panthers)
1 Match- 0 Unsuccessful Raid- 11 points
The Jaipur Pink Panthers got their campaign off to a winning start as they beat arch rivals U Mumba 42-23 thanks to a Super 10 from skipper Deepak Niwas Hooda and a good defensive effort.
Deepak scored 11 raid points without getting tackled even once. This speaks a lot about his fitness, form and the team dynamics which were pretty smooth as the raiding duties were equally shared between himself, Deepak Narwal and Nitin Rawal.
As the Pink Panthers prepare to take on Bengal Warriors on Saturday, Deepak will be knowing that the same will be expected from him throughout the season and he has it in him to deliver.
#3 Naveen (Haryana Steelers)
1 Match- 1 Unsuccessful Raid- 12 points
Almost no one would have noticed this young man's performance amidst the fast moving matches but now that we have time to reflect upon the opening leg, young Naveen's efforts stand out. The Steelers, coached by Rakesh Kumar, beat Anup Kumar-coached Puneri Paltan 34-24 thanks primarily to 14 points from Naveen, of which 12 were raid points.
He was tackled only once throughout the game and what was most noticeable was his sensibility as a raider as he put in empty raids when needed and knew when to apply pressure on the defenders. After a decent involvement last season, Naveen cemented his spot in the side in the absence of lead raiders Vikash Khandola and Prashanth Kumar Rai and a lot is expected of this young star.
#2 Suraj Desai (Telugu Titans)
2 Matches- 4 Unsuccessful Raids- 19 points
In probably the most impressive raiding show this season, Suraj Desai picked up 18 raid points on his PKL debut against Dabang Delhi KC only for his side to fall short by one point.
Siddharth Desai's older brother, Suraj wasn't tackled even once and was the answer to the team's search for a raider to support Siddharth and his performance was the best by any player on debut in PKL history.
However, both Suraj and Siddharth were kept at bay by the clinical Patna Pirates defense in their last match of the Hyderabad leg as Suraj could manage just 1 raid point from 10 raids.
Despite the failure against Patna, Suraj's burst in the opening game has shown the world what he can do and that he'll be one player to keep your eyes on throughout the season.
#1 Naveen Kumar (Dabang Delhi KC)
2 Matches- 4 Unsuccessful Raids- 21 points
One of the 2 sides to get 2 wins out of 2, Dabang Delhi have sneaked through in both of the matches by winning by just one point against both the Telugu Titans and the Tamil Thalaivas. However one player who has remained a constant has been young Naveen Kumar who has been their lead raider in all situations this season.
The youngster has scored 21 raid points from 2 games including 14 points against Telugu Titans where he wasn't tackled even once. He also enforced many errors in the game against Tamil Thalaivas and it was the error which experienced campaigner Manjeet Chhillar made that enabled the Dabangs to snatch victory from the Thalaivas.
He has looked very confident, measured and swift and his anticipation is on another level. He has also shone in Do-or-Die raids and even made experienced campaigners like Mohit Chhillar and Abozar Mighani crumble under pressure when he's raiding.
He's certainly a player to watch out for this season and was the best raider in the Hyderabad leg.
