Pro Kabaddi League 2018 Season 6, Match 8: Tamil Thalaivas vs Bengaluru Bulls Player Ratings
A stunning display of top-flight raiding from young Pawan Sehrawat grabbed the spotlight on the day with twenty raid points as the Bengaluru Bulls decimated the Tamil Thalaivas 48-37 to get their campaign off to a perfect start at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai.
Right from the get-go, the young raider, for whose services the Bulls broke the bank was on the money as he picked four points from his first four raids. Even as Ajay Thakur chipped away with points of his own, Pawan looked unperturbed and put up an exhilarating show as the Thalaivas' defence was sent on a leather hunt.
In the first half, Sehrawat outclassed the Thalaivas' defence as he picked two super raids including a herculean five-point raid as the Bulls went into the break with a mountain of confidence behind them.
Unfortunately for the youngster, he picked up an injury early in the second half and although he limped off to a standing ovation, the Bulls were always in the hunt through Kashiling Adake (9 points), Ashish Kumar (7 points) and Mahender Singh (3 points).
While Rohit Kumar surprisingly came in only for two raids throughout the game, his opposite number Ajay Thakur was in his element right throughout the game as he picked 20 points from 25 raids while the only other meaningful contribution was from Athul MS, who continued to impress with 8 points.
On a day when the Bulls raiders ran riot, the Thalaivas, who started without Jasvir Singh in their line-up seemed to have hit the snooze button very early in the competition, that has only dented their campaign with three losses now from their four games at home.
Here are the player ratings from the encounter.
Tamil Thalaivas
Ajay Thakur - 9/10
The skipper of the squad, Ajay enjoyed a terrific game on a personal level as he finished with 20 points to his credit but unfortunately, could not marshal his troops to give his team an upper hand over the Bulls.
Athul MS - 7/10
The Keralite was picked ahead of the veteran in Jasvir Singh and it made a bit of a difference as Athul did manage to pick eight points but his errors on the defence front proved costly for the Thalaivas.
Manjeet Chhillar - 5/10
The most vocal of the players on the mat, Manjeet had an off-day, marked by the fact that he was substituted in the second half. While he did contribute in bringing down the likes of Kashi and Pawan on a few occasions, his adamant call to take a review at an early stage in the game was a huge mistake.
Vimal Raj V - 4/10
Starting ahead of Jasvir Singh, Vimal had only one top moment when he came out successful in a DO OR DIE raid apart from which, he had nothing to speak of.
Ponparthiban Subramanian - 2/10
The local lad had an awful start to his PKL career as he was the main target for Pawan Kumar, who tagged the defender in three straight raids, prompting a substitution from the Thalaivas.
C Arun - 3/10
Arun's only contribution to the game was his support in a couple of tackles, which did not help the Thalaivas' cause as they failed to keep the Bulls' raiders in check.
Amit Hooda - 1/10
One of the most experienced defenders in the side, Amit Hooda had one of the worst games in his PKL career as he failed to notch up a single tackle point and on the contrary gifted easy points to the Bulls.
Substitutes
Darshan J - 3/10
Darshan fell out of favour after his dismal show in the previous matches and he came on only as a substitute, but even then failed to make an impact, going in for one too many advance tackles.
Sunil - 3/10
The experienced left corner defender came in during the second half in place of Manjeet Chhillar and was only involved in one successful tackle.