'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFAABAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABf/aAAgBAQAAAAAMr//EABQBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAX/2gAIAQIQAAAAS//EABQBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT/2gAIAQMQAAAAR//EACEQAAECBQUBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwAEBREhBhQVF4TR/9oACAEBAAE/AJjQNOk5xtPF01xnAUlZWoqsRm5jrOgHO3fHpPyP/8QAGREAAQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAwABAhIh/9oACAECAQE/AABhZ8X/xAAYEQACAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIEEv/aAAgBAwEBPwC9BZR//9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The home leg of the Telugu Titans in the Pro Kabaddi 2018 was filled with a combination of bitter-sweet memories for the hosts as they finished with three wins and an equal number of losses at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Vishakapatnam.
The Titans started their home leg with a 27-29 loss against the Gujarat Fortunegiants in a game that witnessed K Prapanjan finishing with a Super-10 as the Titans' defense succumbed to the pressure.
However, the hosts came back strong against the Jaipur Pink Panthers as Rahul Chaudhari and Nilesh Salunke shared eight points each that led the Titans to a 36-26 win and in the next game against the Haryana Steelers, Rahul Chaudhari's 'Super-10' overshadowed a 12-point effort from Monu Goyat.
The two wins followed two losses as the Titans fell 20-27 against the UP Yoddha after which a 13-point outburst from Pawan Sehrawat resulted in the Titans' third loss of their home leg, a 24-37 loss at the hands of the Bengaluru Bulls.
With a vociferous home support demanding a lot more from the hosts, the Titans appeared like a pack of hungry lions in their final home game as Rahul Chaudhari's 13-point effort helped them cruise to a 41-36 win over the Patna Pirates.
While Rahul Chaudhari did not have the best of home legs with just 91 points from 6 games, the likes of Pardeep Narwal, Pawan Sehrawat had top outings. Here are the top 5 raiders from the Telugu Titans' home leg.
#5 K Prapanjan - Gujarat Fortunegiants
The lanky raider has essayed his role as a supporting raider to good effect this season that has led the Fortunegiants to many wins this season. In 17 matches thus far, Prapanjan has picked up 91 raid points and has done well to continually pick points.
Yet, it was in Vishakapatnam that Prapanjan was at his best as he picked up two 'Super-10s' from the two games that Gujarat played in this leg of the sixth season.
In the first game against the hosts in the latter's opening game of the home leg, Prapanjan picked up 10 points and with that his second 'Super-10' of the season. Continuing his good form, Prapanjan was a force to reckon with for the Haryana Steelers defense as the towering raider claimed 12 points to finish with 22 raid points from 2 games.
#4 Monu Goyat - Haryana Steelers
The Steelers skipper was certainly under the pump for his under-par performances in the first half of this season but did well to find his bearings and make a strong comeback with six 'Super-10s' from his last seven outings.
In the Vizag leg, the Steelers played two games, one against the hosts Telugu Titans and the other against last year's finalists Gujarat Fortunegiants.
In the first game against the Titans, Monu Goyat was in fine nick as he collected some important points and brought the Steelers only touching distance from winning the game with his 11 raid points, only to see his team lose in the final seconds of the game.
Next came the Fortunegiants and the Steelers' skipper was on top of his game yet again as he was one of the brightest sparks in the game for his team with 11 raid points from just 13 raids as he lured tackles from the corners repeatedly and kept his team in the game.
From two games, Monu Goyat finished with 24 raid points.
#3 Pawan Sehrawat - Bengaluru Bulls
Pawan Sehrawat has created quite a wave of authority with his mixed bag of tricks while on the raid and his raiding has been one of the biggest driving factors in Bengaluru Bulls' unprecedented run this season.
With 190 raid points from 18 games, Pawan averages more than a 'Super-10' in each game and stands high in the list of the best raiders this season.
The Bulls played just the one game in the Vizag leg against the home team and with the latter under pressure to win in order to qualify for the playoffs, the Bulls unleashed their main weapon through Pawan Sehrawat, who blazed through the hosts' defense to pick up 13 raid points and in the process, register his 9th 'Super-10' in 18 matches.
Pawan did not have the best of starts in the game as he was brought down on a few occasions early in the first half but then found his bearings in the second part of the first half as he threaded gaps and inflicted a massive loss on the Titans.
#2 More GB - Puneri Paltan
The Puneri Paltan have not had the greatest of runs as a lengthy injury time for Nitin Tomar and the inefficiency of the seasoned Rajesh Mondal has certainly not helped their cause, which has seen them register just seven wins from 20 matches.
Yet, one man who has played every game for Pune and managed to pick up crucial points has been all-rounder More GB. While 66 raid points from 20 matches do not paint a pretty picture, More's knack of picking up the bonus points has enabled the Paltan to reduce the deficit in many a game this season.
In Pune's only game during the Titans' home leg, they faced off against the defending champions Patna Pirates. With Girish Ernak, Rinku Narwal and Ravi Kumar failing to get on the scorecard, the onus was on the raiders to keep Pune in the game.
More GB, who assumed the role of a primary raider was at his best this whole season as he kept fishing out important points and amassed 13 points from the game, his second 'Super-10' in the season.
#1 Pardeep Narwal - Patna Pirates
One of the best raiders in the history of the league and the first man to breach the 800-raid point mark, Pardeep Narwal was at his attacking best in the Vishakapatnam leg as he continued his fine form for the Pirates.
Leading the side from the front, Pardeep produced his best performance of the season against Pune when he picked up a whopping 27 raid points from just 26 raids as the Patna Pirates, at the back of a supreme show from their skipper galloped away to a massive 53-36 win over the Puneri Paltan.
After that massive outburst that took the Pirates closer to a place in the playoffs, the Pirates faced off against the hosts in the final game of the Titans' home leg and the onus was on Pardeep to lead his team to a win.
The Patna skipper did push away some early blemishes as he finished with yet another 'Super 10' with 12 points but errors from Patna's defense unit did not help their cause as the Titans clinched a 41-36 win.
Pardeep finished with 39 raid points from two matches at a jaw-dropping average of 14.5 points per game and without a shadow of any doubt, as the best raider from the Vizag leg.
