Pro Kabaddi 2016 Season 4: 5 stars from the first half of the tournament
After 28 contests over 16 days that entertained us as much as they drove us to the edge of our seats, the Kabaddi carnival of season 4 took a day’s rest on Monday on reaching the halfway stage. At this stage, the teams in the top four are closely stacked and are separated merely by 4 points. Patna Pirates won 5 out of 5 matches to begin the tournament and sit atop the league table with 26 points. They’re followed closely by Jaipur Pink Panthers and Puneri Paltan who are just a point behind the Pirates and occupy the second and third position respectively. U Mumba, surprisingly are at 4th place but just 4 points away from the Pirates, which means they can come to the top in no time with a single win.
With all the teams having played half of their matches, the time is perfect to sit back and look at some of the names that have stood out in the first half of the Star Sports Kabaddi league. Some of the names that shone in the previous seasons have continued their good run while some haven’t lived up to the hype. Amidst those names, here are 5 of those players who have consistently delivered the goods for their respective sides and have been a major force behind their team’s current position in the league standings.
1) Mohit Chhillar
While in the first three seasons, it was his game that attracted eyeballs, in 4th season it was the price tag that made him one player everyone was waiting to see on the mat. Having come to the 4th season with the most expensive player of the league tag, Chhillar was understandably under a lot of pressure. But he has time and again vindicated his new owners’ faith in him as he sits atop the table with most successful tackles in the first half.
Although the Bulls haven’t quite enjoyed a rampaging run this season, they still are in with a chance as they sit at number 5 in the table, and much of the credit for that has to go to the duo of Rohit Kumar and Mohit Chhillar.
Chhillar not only tops the list of most successful tackles (27) but is also second on the charts of most tackles per match just behind Sandeep Dhull of Telugu Titans. Chhillar has come in for some criticism by those who have accused of the star defender of not bringing his U Mumba form to Bengaluru Bulls, but a lack of support of the kind he found U Mumba too is missing.