The PKL 2023 is in full swing, and after the first leg, a few teams have looked ahead of the rest. Gujarat Giants is the leader of the pack with three wins in four matches, while Bengal Warriors, Patna Pirates, and Puneri Paltan are yet to lose a match. While raiders have been the talk of the town, defenders have quietly gone about their business. On Saturday, Bengal Warriors’ Shubham Shinde got 11 tackle points in the match against Tamil Thalaivas, which is the second-highest ever in the long history of Pro Kabaddi.
InsideSport takes a look at the highest tackle points by defenders in one PKL match –
Mohammadreza Shadloui vs Dabang Delhi (PKL 9)
The lanky Iraninan Shadloui is undoubtedly one of the best defenders in the Pro Kabaddi. Ever since his debut a couple of seasons back, he has been just unstoppable. In the match against Dabang Delhi in the previous season, he was at his vintage best, as he got eight super tackles, and stopped Naveen Kumar from scoring freely. In the entire tournament, he had 84 points.
Shubham Shinde vs Tamil Thalaivas (PKL 10)
Despite the best efforts of Narender and Ajinkya Pawar, Shubham Shinde stood like a wall against the Thalaivas and got 11 points in the match, joint second-highest by a defender in PKL. The right corner had one super tackle in his name as well. And what was even more impressive is that he had only three unsuccessful tackles on the night.
Manjeet Chillar vs Bengaluru Bulls (PKL 4)
Chillar held the record for most tackle points in a match, for almost three seasons. He scored 11 points for Puneri Paltan, against the Bulls, in a must-win match. Despite trailing 12-21 at the end of the first half, Chillar brought his team back into the match almost single-handedly. He ended the season with 44 points.
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Neeraj Kumar vs Puneri Paltan (PKL 7)
Patna Pirates’ Neeraj Kumar rose to the fore with a stupendous performance against Paltan. He was so dominant in that match, that he completed his High 5 before the end of the first half. Eventually, he equalled Manjeet Chillar’s record of 11 tackle points in a Pro Kabaddi match. That year, he had 59 tackle points overall.
