Pro Kabaddi League 2018, Panchkula Leg: Top 5 defenders from Jaipur's home leg
The Jaipur Pink Panthers brought an exciting end to their home leg in the town of Panchkula, Haryana with a thrilling tied contest against the Dabang Delhi KC side on the final day of matches at the Tau Devilal Sports Complex.
The draw meant that Jaipur finished their home leg in Panchkula with two wins, two losses and two drawn matches, and lifted themselves off the bottom of the Zone A standings.
After starting their home leg with a convincing win over the Puneri Paltan, they faced a do-or-die situation having to win against U Mumba to stay in the race for playoffs. However, a Siddharth Desai second half masterclass saw the U Mumba side mount a comeback and draw the match at 35-35 to put the home side Jaipur out of the running for the playoffs.
Jaipur took on the Gujarat Fortunegiants in their next match and tested the Zone A frontrunners before succumbing to a 34-29 defeat. Jaipur bounced back quickly to register a win over the Haryana Steelers with a 39-30 win banking on Deepak Niwas Hooda and Sunil Siddhgavali's promising showing. The Pink Panthers faced off against Gujarat Fortunegiants again for the second time in Panchkula. They did well to give a tough fight to the table toppers but ended up on the losing side yet again in a narrow 31-33 loss.
The final match saw the Jaipur Pink Panthers take on the Dabang Delhi KC side in an encounter where the visitors fielded a young side testing their bench strength. A thrilling game saw the sides share spoils on the night as the Panchkula leg came to a close.
The Panchkula leg saw a lot of defenders bring put on strong performances on the mat. We take a look at five defenders who shone in this leg.
#5 Sunil Siddhgavali - Jaipur Pink Panthers
The cover defender Sunil Siddhgavali was a stable presence in the Jaipur Pink Panthers' defensive setup with his timely dashes and blocks on opposition raiders.
He started the home leg on a stellar note scoring eight points against the Puneri Paltan as the Panthers kick-started their Panchkula run on a bright note. He continued his form over the next couple of games getting another 'High 5' against the Haryana Steelers.
He had a comparatively silent later half of the home leg, not managing to get going with the tackle points, but provided strong support in the defensive lineup.