The top 5 raiders of ongoing PKL season 8
Professional sport is nothing short of a thriller movie, which is drawn out by the tenacity of the attacking unit, their fearless risk-taking ability, and the confidence to back themselves when it may seem they are cornered.
The ongoing PKL season was one of its kind in their entire history. Played under the Bio Bubble, players had their doubts spectators had their worries but, it took off in style with Pawan and Abhishek Going head to head and scoring massive 12 and 19 points respectively, setting the bar high for the players to follow.
In the eventful League Phase which started on 22nd of Dec 2021 and ended on 19th of Feb 2022. There were some brilliant performances, here are the top 5 Raiders from the league stage of PKL Season 8
Pawan Sehrawat - Bengaluru Bulls
The last two seasons have been great for Pawan Sherawat winning MVP and Topscoring raider and started the season with a super 10 in his first game but unfortunately ended on the losing side. But he kept this momentum forward starting a little slow but ending the matches on high. He kept his scoring boots on till the end of the league. Playing every match and scoring 274 raid points highest in the league, and 16 super joint highest in the league. His constant scoring antics meant his side finished inside the playoff spot despite a nervy end to the league. His highest score came against Dabang Delhi where he scored a massive 27 points to give his team a big lead.
2. Arjun Deshwal - Jaipur Pink Panthers
Panthers had a mixed start to the season and was a team that looked a little unsettled. But, their lead raider was super consistent game after game, giving his all on the mat to make sure his team wins. He was doing most of the raids for his team with Deepak Niwas Hooda struggling. He shouldered the responsibility bravely, putting out more than 421 raids with 52% being successful. He ended the league with 267 points and 16 super 10s (Joint Highest in the league). His highest score came out in a losing cause against Platans, where he scored 18 points out of his team's 30.
3. Mahinder Singh - Bengal Warriors
The defending champions had one of the best raiders in the history of the PKL. The tall solid and Pumped Mahinder is one handful of raiders for any team to deal with and this season was no different where he showed why he is one of the best out there on the mat. He is the only raider in the top 5 whose team did not make it into the playoffs. But he did his job while his team struggled. He scored 17 against the Bulls outscoring Pawan in that game, 16 against Dabang Delhi, and, 12 against a strong Patna Pirates defence. He paid through the pain in his ankle to fight till the end and scored 262 points and 16 super 10s. He surpassed the 900 raid points in his entire PKL career this season and will look to bounce back strong next season.
Yoddha had the record-breaker Pardeep Narwal in their rank and he was set to play the role of the led raider for his side. But in new surroundings and just coming back from a big injury saw him not being his usual self. This could have been a problem for Yoddha but they up-stepped their support raider to switch his role, from being a support raider at the start of the league to now being the lead raider. His strong figure increased his reach and his continuous effort to come out of struggle saw him score continuous 8-9 points in each match which saw him sneak into the top 5 raiders for this season to everyone's surprise. He scored 183 raid points in 21 games with an average of 8.71 points per game.
5.Naveen Express - Dabang Delhi
The young Naveen express was one of the most talked-about raiders even before the start of the PKL season 8. he scored a massive 300 raid points last season and started the season with a bang scoring consistent Super 15s in the early phase of the league. But an Injury against the Pirates saw him sit out for almost 7 games this season. But he finally came back against the bulls and scored 3 back-to-back super 10 to see his side finish on the 2nd spot at the table. Despite playing 7 games less than the above 4 raiders he still managed to sneak into the top 5 raiders for this season with 180 points at an average of 12 points per game. His highest score of the season came in the narrow win against the Titans, he scored a massive 25 points out of his side 36 points. With the playoffs set to begin, he will be looking to crawl up the latter to catch up with those ahead of him.
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