PKL 2019 | Studs and duds from Ahmedabad leg ft. Pankaj, Girish Ernak and Ravinder Pahal
Ahmedabad was the fourth stop in PKL 2019 and it saw some breathtaking action with many players shining for their respective teams while many also failing to leave up to the expectations. Gujarat’s Pankaj emerged as the biggest surprise while Girish Ernak continues to disappoint Puneri Paltan fans.
Studs
Pankaj, Left Corner Defender, Gujarat Fortunegiants
This year’s home leg was the most unexpected one for Gujarat Fortunegiants, one of the most consistent teams in the league since their first season in 2017. Gujarat lost all their four home games and Pankanj’s performance at the left corner of the defence was the biggest positive for the Fortunegiants in Ahmedabad. Playing his first game in the seventh edition of the league, the all-rounder had a great day on the mat with six tackle points from seven matches. He replaced Sumit Mallick at the crucial position and against U Mumba, he showed what he is capable of. Coach Manpreet Singh and the team management will be happy with the way he started off this season and would want him to keep contributing to the team’s cause.
Vikash Kandola, Raider, Haryana Steelers
After missing out on the first few games for Haryana Steelers, their star raider Vikash Kandola is back in the team and he is having a great impact as well. The primary raider of the Steelers has already picked up 40 raid points from four games and more importantly, he is winning games for the Rakesh Kumar-coached side. Haryana have defeated Patna Pirates, Bengaluru Bulls and UP Yoddha in their last three games. Kandola scored 12 points each in their two matches in Ahmedabad against Bengaluru Bulls and UP Yoddha. He had also an important tackle point to his name in the game against the defending champions in which they managed to upset the Bulls.
K Prapanjan, Raider, Bengal Warriors
With Maninder Singh being the primary raider in Bengal Warriors, we don’t see K Prapanjan much in the role of the primary raider for the Kolkata-based franchise. However, things were different in the game against the home team during the Ahmedabad leg and it was Prapanjan who turned up for the team at the right juncture to ensure a thrilling win for the team from the East against the runners-up from the last edition. Prapanjan had collected eight points in the game in which Gujarat skipper Sunil Kumar was breathing fire and the right cover defender was having a great day on the mat especially during the Super Tackle opportunities. However, Prapanjan, who was with the Fortunegiants before, took it on him and went for the last raid which was a Do or die one as well. There was no impact of the pressure of the raid on him and he managed to come back successfully after getting a touch on Vinod Kumar to seal the game in Bengal’s favour.
Duds
Girish Ernak, Left Corner Defender, Puneri Paltan
If Puneri Paltan want to succeed in the tournament, Girish Ernak needs to be sensible enough. We are not writing this now, this is the thinking of the experts from the last edition but things are not changing and not going in favour of coach Anup Kumar and his team. Ernak, who is touted as one of the finest left corners among the current crop of players, has failed to impress with his performance this year. In the Ahmedabad leg, he managed to collect only four points and all of them came in the game against Dabang Delhi. In the other match against Jaipur Pink Panthers, Ernak had gone for seven tackle attempts and failed to succeed even once and the game also went in favour of the opponents. With only 18 points from seven games, Ernak is one of the players who has performed way below than it was expected from him.
Ravinder Pahal, Right Corner Defender, Dabang Delhi
If Ernak has been terrible for Pune at the left, Ravinder Pahal has been inconsistent for Dabang Delhi at the right side of the mat. In the only game that Delhi played in the Ahmedabad leg, Pahal looked completely out of place at his own position and managed to get only three tackle points out of eight attempts with a shambolic strike rate of 38% against Puneri Paltan. Being the senior defender in the team, he has looked rash more often than not which is a cause of headache for Joginder Narwal who takes care of the left corner. The corner combination has not worked well for the team from the national capital and it is their raiders who are bailing the team from troubled waters on many occasions. The Hawk has only 11 tackle points from six games in the seventh season and would want to come back strong to prove his worth in the side.
Sachin Tanwar, Raider, Gujarat Fortunegiants
One of the reasons for Gujarat Fortunegiants’ poor home run is the lacklustre show by their primary raider Sachin Tanwar. Sachin, who emerged as their star performer in the last year’s campaign with 204 total points, has been terrible this season. In the four home games, he scored 5, 4, 6 and 3 and that added more pressure on the defence line of the Ahmedabad-based franchise in their home leg. He has only 43 raid points out of nine matches in season 7 so far despite being the top raider of his side. Players like GB More and all-rounder Rohit Gulia had better games as compared to Sachin and he will have to work hard in the break to get back his lost form ahead of Gujarat’s next match in the Chennai leg which will begin from today.
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