g_jday_cr_1296x1296.jpg&w=130&h=130&scale=crop&location=center "John Daly opens Champions tour event with record-high 19 on hole")
On Day 15 of Pro Kabaddi League Season 12, the caravan moved to the Pink City. However, it wasn’t a happy homecoming as the Bengaluru Bulls beat the two-time winners, Jaipur Pink Panthers.
In the next fixture, a Pawan Sehrawat-less Tamil Thalaivas handed the Bengal Warriors their fourth straight defeat. Speaking exclusively on KBD Live, JioStar expert Rishank Devadiga analyzed the performances of the day while hailing a dominating show from Arjun Deshwal.
Speaking on KBD Live, JioStar expert Rishank Devadiga praised Tamil Thalaivas’ defensive revival against Bengal Warriorz:
“We rarely get to see defensive performances like this, but the way the Tamil Thalaivas defenders played against the Bengal Warriorz was class. Their main issue earlier was poor defense and the raiding department wasn’t doing well in combinations, but this game was different, the defense clicked together. Every defender did his job, and the stats showed a 100% strike-rate. Ronak led the charge with four tackle points, Aashish added three, while Suresh Jadhav and Nitesh Kumar chipped in with two each. When the defense performs like this, the raiders automatically find their rhythm too. Against Devank Dalal’s Bengal Warriorz, the defense was rock solid, and Ronak stood out. He had a clear plan to stop Devank, executed chain tackles repeatedly, and completely broke Devank’s confidence.”
On the stellar performance of Tamil Thalaivas’ star raider Arjun Deshwal against Bengal Warriorz:
“We can only expect a player like Arjun Deshwal to stay at the top. He began the season in great rhythm, had a slight dip midway, but now he has regained it. Against Bengal Warriorz, he was outstanding with 17 raid points from 26 raids. Yes, he got self-out two-three times, and that’s something he’ll need to work on, but overall his raiding showed complete dominance.”
On Devank Dalal’s performance against Tamil Thalaivas:
” I saw a very confused Devank on the mat. His start wasn’t good as he was tackled multiple times, but once he got momentum, he began scoring raid points and even tried contributing in defense, though he lost points there as well. His frustration was visible, the team wasn’t supporting him, especially the defense. He would get out and only return after an all-out, which needs to be reduced. Bengal Warriorz still have a chance to make the playoffs with eight teams qualifying and a lot of matches are still left to be played, but if they continue playing this poorly, it will be very difficult for the season seven champions to progress.”
On the over-reliance of teams on individual players:
“It is very difficult for a team to succeed if they are completely reliant on a single player, and Bengal Warriorz are a clear example with their dependence on Devank Dalal. A similar situation is seen in Jaipur Pink Panthers, where Nitin Dhankhar is playing the role of a lone warrior with little support. If Nitin gets out, he only returns after the team suffers an all-out. Jaipur must work on their defense and get support from other raiders. Nitin will always bring you points, but in kabaddi, the support raiders are equally important. Teams whose main raiders get that backing from their teammates are the ones doing well.”
