Pro Kabaddi League 2018, Season 6, Match 5: Gujarat Fortunegiants v Dabang Delhi | Player Ratings

The opening encounter of the third day of the Pro Kabaddi League 2018 season six produced some nail-biting action as Dabang Delhi and Gujarat Fortunegiants fought tooth and nail to eke out a 32-32 draw at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai.

Dabang Delhi were dealt an early blow as they succumbed to an all-out as early as in the sixth minute which saw Gujarat race away to a 9-2 lead. As the opening half neared a close, Dabang Delhi opted to bring on Chandran Ranjith, their most expensive buy from the auction, into the action and he struck with his first raid.

Going into the break, the finalists from last year enjoyed a slender five-point lead as the scoreline read 17-12 in favor of the Sunil Kumar-led side.

In the first few minutes of the second half, the two teams traded points as the lead remained static at four points before Gujarat galloped away to a 28-20 lead owing to some errors from the Delhi defense.

However, with just five minutes left on the clock and Chandran Ranjith running riot, Delhi inflicted a timely all-out on Gujarat that brought the deficit down to just two points. A herculean effort from Ravinder Pahal brought the score to a tie before a host of empty raids culminated in a 'safe approach' from Pawan Kadian as the two teams shared mixed emotions at the final whistle.

Here are the player ratings for the match between Delhi and Gujarat:

Dabang Delhi

Young raider Naveen was the star for Delhi

Joginder Narwal - 7/10

Leading the side for their opening game, Joginder Narwal was not in the best of form and was often seen wearing an animated look on his face as the aggression brought out some serious nerves that slightly affected his game.

Naveen Kumar Goyat - 7/10

An unknown entity in the Pro Kabaddi League, Naveen's repertoire from the Nationals earned him a spot in the starting seven over Chandran Ranjith, and Pawan Kadian and he did not disappoint, making life difficult for the opposition but at the same time, lacking the experience to tackle crunch situations.

Ravinder Pahal - 8/10

'The Hawk', who returned to Dabang Delhi, the team he started his journey with, had a good game, with a mix of patience and aggression. His experience helped Pahal to come up with the holds and blocks at the right time.

Shabeer Bapu - 5/10

A senior man in the squad, Shabeer Bapu did not get too many chances to prove his mettle as he finished with just one point from four raids, but he did provide a good helping hand on the defensive front.

Meraj Sheykh - 4/10

The Iranian, who captained Delhi last season, played a very small part in the game, as he was replaced by Viraj Vishnu Landge, after the former picked one point from two raids and an equal number of tackles.

Vishal - 3/10

Visibly annoyed at the lack of opportunities that came his way, Vishal was often subjected to being the target of the defenders and his three tackle attempts all went in vain.

Vishal Mane - 3/10

The veteran defender, who has plied his trade for U Mumba and Patna Pirates seemed absent from the defensive front as he failed to produce a single tackle but essayed a role of a contributor to chain tackles.

SUBSTITUTES

Chandran Ranjith - 9/10

Delhi's costliest buy from the auction, Ranjith surprisingly did not find a place in the starting seven but made a grand entry, picking two points from two raids. He continued his rich vein of form, single-handedly keeping Delhi in the hunt as he finished with 10 points.

Pawan Kumar Kadian - 6/10

One could often see the fact that Kadian was keen on shouldering the raiding duties but he could not do a great job at that, with just 3 points from nine raids.

Viraj Vishnu Landge - 8/10

The youngster was a force to reckon with last season and proved his worth with the minimal opportunities he was given this match, with two points from the two tackles he made.

Rajesh Narwal - 4/10

The experienced all-rounder was yet another notable absentee as he came on for just a solitary raid, a DO OR DIE raid where he easily gave in to the Gujarat defense.

Gujarat Fortunegiants

The Gujarat Fortunegiants defense looked solid

Sunil Kumar - 9/10

Four points from one raid and three tackles do paint a pretty picture but it was more than that from Sunil Kumar as he ensured he was on the mat for almost the entirety of the contest, leading the team from the front at all stages.

Sachin Tanwar - 7/10

Sachin Tanwar appeared a pale shadow of himself but still managed to produce the goods as he finished with 7 points from 15 raids and managed to keep the scoreboard ticking.

Rohit Gulia - 6/10

The young all-rounder skipped his way to raid first and for the rest of the match, performed in patches. He picked just four points from 15 raids but contributed to the team's cause.

K Prapanjan - 6/10

Prapanjan did not have the best of debuts with Gujarat as he finished with just four points from 11 raids, often falling to the experience of Ravinder Pahal.

Ruturaj Koravi - 6/10

Ruturaj started the match as one to keep an eye on, a fact that he justified with some strong ankle holds and blocks that kept the Delhi raiders at bay. However, in the second half, his need for picking points went up and with that, the chances he took increased and his advance tackles often went against him.

Parvesh Bhainswal - 5/10

The right cover defender enjoyed a decent outing as he played the role of a supporting defender to perfection, and in the process also collected 2 points from 4 attempted raids.

C Kalai Arasan - 3/10

The left corner defender had a woeful start to this season as he just could not find his bearings and was caught napping by the likes of Chandran Ranjith and Naveen Kumar.

SUBSTITUTES

Mahendra Ganesh Rajput - 6/10

The lanky raider was straight away brought in for a DO OR DIE raid in which he succumbed, but in his final raid, he managed to pick a brace. However, his poor tackle in the end gifted an easy point to Delhi.