PKL11 Hyderabad leg Report Card: Pawan leads resurgent Telugu Titans; Puneri Paltan maintain gold standard

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Season 11 of the Pro Kabaddi League is in full swing, and with the Hyderabad leg witnessing 44 tightly contested games, the narratives of PKL 11 have already emerged.

25 of those games ended with a score difference of less than seven, indicating that there’s no dominant force this year, and the prize of the playoffs is still up for grabs.

Here’s how every team has performed this season so far:

Puneri Paltan

Grade: A-

Not many teams can deal with Mohammadreza Shadloui leaving their team and not even miss a beat, but the defending champions have picked up where they’ve left off from last season. They’ve not appeared as invincible as PKL 10, with losses to both Tamil Thalaivas and Telugu Titans as well as a tie against Bengal Warriorz in their opening eight games, but they still lead the way in the standings.

Every win has been massive, and owed in large part to defender Gaurav Khatri, who leads the league in tackle points, ably supported by Puneri’s paltan of raiders and all-rounders – Aslam Inamdar, Mohit Goyat and Pankaj Mohite continuing where they left off from last season. Another title may not be as much of a certainty, but they are dead certs for the playoffs.

Telugu Titans

Grade: A

Even if these very pages had predicted that Telugu Titans wouldn’t be the pushovers they were the previous few years, no one could have seen this coming. Led by a resurgent Pawan Sehrawat (who’s balancing raiding and defensive duties with equal aplomb this season), the Titans are now in second place, off the back of four consecutive wins – a feat they’d never achieved since PKL 5.

Pawan’s 91 points are the second-best this season, but it’s those around him that have shored up Krishan Kumar Hooda’s turnaround of the Titans. Vijay Malik is an able deputy in raiding duties, Sagar Sethpal Rawal, Ajit Pawar and Krishan Dhull defended well when it mattered. However, the Titans have conceded the most all-outs this season, and have given up the most raid points barring Dabang Delhi in the league, so Hooda still has work to do.

U Mumba

Grade: A

PKL’s shift towards youth is best exemplified by U Mumba, who’ve handed the spotlight to multiple debutants this year, and it’s resulted in a promising start to the season. Ably led by the experienced Sunil Kumar, U Mumba’s young guns have lived up to their promise – and they are now third in the standings, having played a game fewer than the top two.

Leading the way is the raiding performance of Ajit Chouhan, who was instrumental in wins over the Patna Pirates and Jaipur Pink Panthers. He credits his captain for giving him freedom, and it’s paid off. Iranian coach Gholamreza Mazandarani is moulding a handy little outfit here – and expect them to surprise many this season.

Dabang Delhi

Grade: C

Despite being fourth in the standings, Dabang Delhi’s presence up the field is only because they’ve played nine games (the rest of the field have played seven/eight). They can be overtaken by five teams below them in the table with a solitary win, which also underlines how tight the PKL has been this season. They have more losses than they have wins (5 vs 4), and a concerning tendency to give up points at crucial moments – they have the second-worst defensive record in the league.

The losses to Bengaluru Bulls and Patna Pirates ought to have stung, especially since Ashu Malik’s raiding performances have deserved more (he leads PKL 11 in raid points and points overall while having eight super 10s in nine games). Naveen Kumar’s return will naturally help in raiding duties, and Joginder Narwal will count on him to guide them to a playoff spot.

Bengal Warriorz

Grade: B-

The big names at the Bengal Warriorz have not disappointed so far in PKL 11. ‘Mighty’ Maninder Singh has racked up the points in the raids and Fazel Atrachali has the third-highest average tackle points in the league so far. The Iranian also made history by becoming the first player in league history to reach 500 tackle points.

And yet, it’s been Nitin Kumar in only his second PKL season, who’s proved crucial to their strategy. The 1-2 raiding punch of Maninder and Nitin has worked incredibly well, as the Warriorz have pulled off impressive wins such as those over the Haryana Steelers. The two ties against U Mumba and Puneri Paltan could have easily been wins, and the additional four points would have seen them top the table. Yet, the stats show they’re not topping any charts as a team, and that’s perhaps what’s missing from their push to win this year’s title.

Patna Pirates

Grade: B+

Patna Pirates have scored an average of 37.43 points this season – better than any team in PKL 11, yet find themselves in sixth place. Their scoring prowess is easily explained – the youthful left-right pairing of Devank Dalal (87 points) and Ayan Lohchab (54 points) has been one of the best raiding units in the PKL this year, with them contributing to 54% of the Pirates points so far.

Their place in the standings is probably because the Pirates have had a tough run of fixtures, losing to defending champions Puneri Paltan, the resurgent Telugu Titans and U Mumba – who are 1,2,3 in the standings. While they are unlikely to add to their three titles this year, they stand a good chance if their balanced squad continues to produce.

Haryana Steelers

Grade: B

Another misnomer in terms of standings, since last year’s finalists have only played six games so far, the fewest of the league (along with Gujarat Giants). Aside from a demoralizing opening day loss to defending champions Puneri Paltan, the Steelers’ only other defeat came in a narrow 38-40 loss to a Warriorz side riding on big performances from their star names.

Widely considered the best defensive outfit in the league after the addition of Mohammadreza Shadloui, the Steelers have backed it up with the numbers – conceding the least amount of points and the third-highest average tackle points. However, raiding has been an issue with the fewest points in the league. Vinay has been ably supported by Shadloui while raiding, but coach Manpreet Singh has to tweak his defence-first formula if the Steelers are to win their first title this year.

Tamil Thalaivas

Grade: C

They spent big in the auction and much was expected from this side, but eighth place after the Hyderabad leg surely places some pressure on their coaching setup. They have a superb raiding unit in Narender Kandola and Sachin Tanwar (5th and 6th in the points table), and the fourth-highest points per game in the league as a team.

Defensively, the Thalaivas are second only to Puneri Paltan in tackle points, but also leak points like a sieve. A team of contrasts, the Thalaivas pulled off a superb win over Puneri Paltan but also conspired to lose against Bengaluru Bulls. It’s that sort of inconsistency that places their playoff spot under threat. Sort it, and they’ll be one of the best teams in the league.

Jaipur Pink Panthers

Grade: C

Another one of the teams who can defeat and lose to anyone in the league, Jaipur PP’s inconsistencies have been in sharp contrast to their star raider, Arjun Deshwal. He became the second-fastest to 1000 PKL points in the league’s history, and starred in all three of their wins over the Warriorz, Titans and Yoddhas this season.

One of the best raiders in the league, and a defensive setup that tackles with a league-high success rate – all for ninth place. Coach Sanjeev Baliyan remains baffled by his team’s rollercoaster form, but is still placing faith in his specialists and not his all-rounders. It’s a recipe for this middling form continuing, and he ought to change it.

UP Yoddhas

Grade: C-

The prevailing opinion was that Pardeep Narwal was holding back this franchise, and after beginning the season with two wins, it appeared true. Things have gone pear-shaped since, and it’s telling that Yoddhas’ three wins this season have come against Dabang Delhi, Bulls and the Giants – three very unimpressive teams so far.

Bharat Hooda has been the lone bright spark for this team, but it seems unlikely that they will trouble the playoff places this year.

Bengaluru Bulls

Grade: D

Pardeep Narwal is a spent force, and all the talk of a homecoming sparking an uptick in his form has well and truly dissipated now. There are flashes of brilliance still, such as the crucial all-out inflicted on Dabang Delhi in their first win of the season. It’s increasingly rare however, and the Bulls simply can’t rely on him for consistent point-scoring.

Jai Bhagwan and Ajinkya Pawar have battled bravely, and were impressive in the team’s only other win of the season against Tamil Thalaivas, but the writing is already on the wall for this side. Six losses from the first eight games of the season is irredeemable – however you swing it.

Gujarat Giants

Grade: F

The Giants only win of the season has come against the similarly poor Bulls, and they’ve been handed big losses in their other games. They spent big on Guman Singh, who’s been serviceable, but the rest of their 15 signings have absolutely not gelled as a unit.

Coach Ram Meher Singh has no idea about his best lineup, to say nothing about their defensive issues. They are the worst team in the league in most metrics, and are destined to finish last.

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