Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Top 5 raiders from the Hyderabad leg

The opening leg of the Pro Kabaddi League that took place in Hyderabad saw a lot of new talent rising from the shadows of some of the better-known players. While the home team, the Telugu Titans did not enjoy a favourable run, winning just one out of six games, the eleven games contested at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium hosted some thrilling encounters.

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The raiders, in particular, exhibited some fabulous skills with the deft touches and swift raids. Pardeep Narwal started from where he left off in the previous season while Rohit Kumar collected his first super-10 this season. Rahul Chaudhari sometimes played under a shadow of himself but Nilesh Salunke made up for it with some clever raids.

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With eleven matches and the opening leg done and dusted, here are the top 5 raiders from the Hyderabad leg.

#5 Monu Goyat - 16 points from 2 matches

Monu Goyat

The Services man has done extremely well to complement his skipper Pardeep Narwal and with 16 raid points from two matches, his raiding coupled with Pardeep's has given Patna two wins from two matches.

From 27 raids, Monu was pinned down only thrice, highlighting his contribution to Patna's victories. In the two games he played this season, Monu picked six points against Titans in their first match but was particularly impressive in Patna's recent 43-36 win over the Titans.

In the second match against the hosts, he collected his first super-10 of the season and played the perfect foil to a rampaging Pardeep Narwal.

Related: As it happened: Telugu Titans vs Patna Pirates, 36-43

#4 Rohit Kumar - 10 points from 1 match

Rohit Kumar

Given the captain's band ahead of the season, it was quite clear that Rohit Kumar was to play the role of the lead raider in the side, a feat that he managed to perfection in the Bulls' first win against the Titans.

The Bulls skipper made his intentions clear early into the match with some crucial points and carried on throughout, claiming his first super-10 this season in the company of Ajay Kumar.

With the caravan shifting to Nagpur for the Bengaluru Bulls' home leg, it remains to see how much of an impact he will be to the Bulls campaign.

#3 Nilesh Salunke - 27 points from 6 matches

Nilesh successfully escapes from the grip of Vishal Mane

One of the most consistent performers in the Pro Kabaddi League, Nilesh's presence on the mat has been a blessing in disguise for the Titans although his consistency has not managed to bring wins to his team.

Playing the role of the secondary raider in the side, Nilesh has often covered for the absence of Rahul Chaudhari on the mat and from six matches, he has 27 points to his credit from 25 successful raids with an average of 4.4 points per match.

His best performance came against the Tamil Thalaivas in the opening game of the season where he collected seven raid points.

#2 Rahul Chaudhari - 43 points from 6 matches

Titans skipper Rahul Chaudhari in action against the Tamil Thalaivas

The poster boy of Indian Kabaddi created history when he collected his 500th raid point in PKL during the match against the Bengaluru Bulls and has been consistent this season too, barring some dismal performances against the Bengaluru Bulls and Bengal Warriors.

With a raid points per match average of 7.16, Rahul Chaudhari has managed to score vital points for the Titans and has received good support from Nilesh Salunke. However, his efforts have not translated into good results for the Titans and the skipper will hope to lead the team from the front and conjure up some wins.

#1 Pardeep Narwal - 27 points from 2 matches

Pardeep Narwal has been in roaring form this PKL

The 'MVP' from season 4, Pardeep Narwal has continued his purple patch from season 3 and season 4. In the two matches that he has played against the Telugu Titans, he has picked up super-10s in both the games with 15 and 12 points respectively from the first and second match.

The Pirates skipper is just 10 points short of 300 raid points in PKL and with a raid points per match ratio of 13.5, it will not be too long before he reaches the milestone in the next game against the Bengaluru Bulls, who will need to come up with some special algorithm to stop the rampaging and increasingly impressive Pardeep Narwal.