Kabaddi
Pro Kabaddi 2022: Telugu Titans failure, Pardeep Narwal milestone- Major takeaways from week 3
With the third week of Pro Kabaddi League 2022 concluded, here are some major takeaways from the third week of PKL 9.
With two weeks gone, PKL Season 9 threw some surprises around with few shocking results.
Patna Pirates took down defending champions, Jaipur Pink Panthers are playing a superb defensive game and many more things.
We look at the key takeaways from the third week of Pro Kabaddi League 2022:
Pardeep Narwal Milestone
The record-breaking raider, Pardeep Narwal created history as he became the first-ever raider in the history of the Pro Kabaddi league to cross the 1400 raid point milestone.
Pardeep has dominated PKL for five seasons on the trot with his raiding abilities and holds numerous records to his name. He has scored 1404 raid points in 137 matches.
The closest name to Pardeep's in terms of raiding points is Maninder Singh who has scored 1051 points in 108 matches.
Pardeep Narwal has represented Bengaluru Bulls, Patna Pirates and UP Yoddhas in his PKL career and is famously known for winning a three-peat with Patna Pirates.
Dabang Delhi's consecutive losses
The table toppers were unstoppable but they met the last-placed team in the league and tasted their first defeat.
Dabang Delhi hasn't recovered from that and they lost another game to Bengal Warriors. Although Dabang Delhi is still at the top of the table, two back-to-back losses when other teams are gaining form can be dangerous.
While the mercurial Naveen Express has kept his Super 10s streak on, it is the defence which has faltered.
Delhi will be eager to return back to the winning ways.
Telugu Titans and their problems
Before the start of Pro Kabaddi League 2022, Telugu Titans were hailed as the strongest unit on paper by experts and fans alike but Kabaddi is played more on the mat than paper.
Despite having the veterans and experienced campaigners, Telugu Titans have struggled massively on the mat with just one win and six losses.
They are lingering in the last place on the table and one of the reasons is weird team combinations.
In all the 7 games Titans have played, none of the starting line-ups are the same. The continuous chopping and changing have led to chaos which leaves the team clueless on the mat.
With two-thirds of the season left, it is better if Telugu Titans sort this mess out.
Tactical Awareness of Players
One of the most impressive things of PKL Season 9 is the tactical awareness shown by players on the mat in clutch moments. Week three had many examples like that.
In season 9 teams are asking their main defenders to take out the opposition's star raiders. In the match against Puneri Paltan and Bengal Warriors, Captain Fazel Atrachali took it upon himself to deal with sta raider Maninder Singh and kept him out.
Sunil Malik implied the same thing against Maninder last week to get rid of him. Patna Pirates did the same, asking Shadlu to only target Naveen Express which eventually helped them register their first win.
