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The Chennai leg of VIVO Pro Kabaddi League 2019 is done and dusted. Unfortunately, the home side, Tamil Thalaivas could not register a single win at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium with their best performance coming in a tied encounter against Puneri Paltan. The home team lost their remaining three home matches to Bengaluru Bulls, Jaipur Pink Panthers and U Mumba respectively.
Among all the franchises, Bengal Warriors and Puneri Paltan impressed the most with 8 points in 2 matches. Besides, the out-of-form Telugu Titans and Gujarat Fortune Giants too registered victories in the Chennai leg.
Shedding some light on the individual stars, here's a look at the top 5 raiders from the Chennai leg.
#5 Vikas Kandola - Haryana Steelers
Matches - 2, Raid Points - 18, Best Performance - 9 Raid Points vs U Mumba
Haryana Steelers' young raider, Vikas Kandola failed to complete a Super 10 in both the games the Steelers played in Chennai. In the match against Telugu Titans, Kandola went to raid on 17 occasions of which 9 raids were successful.
Vikas improved his performance against U Mumba as he only failed thrice in his 21 raids besides scoring 8 touch points and 1 bonus point. This impressive performance ensured that Haryana Steelers defeat U Mumba by 3 points. The youngster currently holds the 8th position on the raiders' leader-board with 58 raid points in 6 matches.
#4 Siddharth Desai - Telugu Titans
Match - 1, Touch Points - 16, Bonus Points - 2
The costliest player of VIVO Pro Kabaddi League 2019, Siddharth Desai had disappointed fans with his lacklustre performances in the initial phases of the tournament. However, the former U Mumba star roared back to form in the Chennai leg with a stellar outing versus Haryana Steelers.
Desai had a 100 percent strike rate in that game as he took 18 raid points in his 18 raids. The Telugu Titans raider took 16 touch points and 2 bonus points as the defensive unit of the Steelers had no clue how to get the better of Desai. He got good support from his brother, Suraj who took 6 points to guarantee a big win for the Titans.
This terrific raiding performance has taken Siddharth Desai to the 4th position on the 'Most Raid Points' list.
#3 V. Ajith Kumar - Tamil Thalaivas
Matches - 4, Raid Points - 19, Best Performance - 8 Raid Points vs Puneri Paltan
Making his debut in the Pro Kabaddi League this year, Tamil Nadu's own V. Ajith Kumar shone in front of his home fans with a good performance in the Chennai leg. Ajith played as a substitute in the first match but his 4 points against the Bulls helped him get a place in the starting seven.
In the fixture versus Puneri Paltan, the local star pulled off a miraculous super raid in the final moments of the game to deny Pune a win in that contest. This performance sealed Kumar's place in the Tamil Thalaivas starting seven.
Playing against the season one champions next, Ajith could not contribute much but he improved his game versus U Mumba and scored 5 raid points.
Ultimately, he scored more raid points than team captain Ajay Thakur in the 4 home matches of the Thalaivas.
#2 Pardeep Narwal - Patna Pirates
Matches - 2, Raid Points - 21, Best Performance - 12 Raid Points vs Bengal Warriors
Patna Pirates' captain, Pardeep Narwal continued his good form in the 2019 Pro Kabaddi League but, his teammates could not support him to perfection as the 3-time champions lost both their encounters of the Chennai leg.
While Narwal struggled in the initial phases of the match against Bengal Warriors, his late outburst helped Patna inflict an all-out on the Kolkata-based franchise. Though the all-out came very late, Pardeep completes his Super 10 in that match.
Next, Pardeep started off positively versus the Gujarat Fortune Giants however, he lost steam in the 2nd half and the Gujarat defence tackled him repeatedly. None of his teammates could revive as Patna lost the game by 3 points.
These incredible performances in the raiding department have helped Pardeep take the 2nd spot on the raiders' leader-board.
#1 Rahul Chaudhari - Tamil Thalaivas
Matches - 4, Raid Points - 22, Best Performance - 8 Raid Points vs Puneri Paltan
Though Rahul Chaudhari finished the Chennai leg as the best raider, his performances could not help Tamil Thalaivas win a single game. The Showman had a dismal outing in the match against Bengaluru Bulls with the coach substituting him in the 2nd half. However, Chaudhari came back like a champion and took 8 raid points against Puneri Paltan.
In the 2nd phase of the Chennai leg, Rahul scored 6 points each against U Mumba and Jaipur Pink Panthers but his last minute woes denied Tamil Thalaivas a win. It was surprising to see Ajay Thakur take a backseat and send Rahul and Ajith to raid in the final moments because Thakur has more experience and he had done this job to perfection for Tamil Thalaivas in the past.
With a good outing in the home leg, Rahul has clinched the 7th position on the 'Most Raid Points' list with 64 raid points in 10 matches.
