Pro Kabaddi 2019 preview: Can Rahul-Ajay outshine in-form Naveen Kumar?

In three matches played between Tamil Thalaivas and Dabang Delhi, the later have won all the three matches played so far in Pro Kabaddi League

In Match 80 of Pro Kabaddi 2019, Tamil Thalaivas eye their first win against Dabang Delhi in PKL history, when the two teams will lock horns at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium in Kolkata on Sunday. In three matches played between them, Dabang Delhi have won all the three matches. However, Thalaivas can take confidence of Delhi’s yesterday’s loss against Haryana Steelers.

Check Pro Kabaddi points table and schedule here
 
Can the experienced duo of Rahul Chaudhari-Ajay Thakur outshine the in-form Naveen Kumar?

The contest would feature two experienced raiders in Rahul Chaudhari and Ajay Thakur, who are yet to find their groove in PKL 2019, as they face off a young, vibrant and an in-form Naveen Kumar. Naveen Kumar single handedly has scored more raid points (157) than Rahul Chaudhari and Ajay Thakur combined (134) this season.

PKL 2019 Performance
Raider	Raid Points
Naveen Kumar	157
Rahul Chaudhari + Ajay Thakur	134

 

Among raiders to have gone for a minimum of 150 raids, Naveen Kumar has the 2nd best raid SR (61). On the other hand, Ajay Thakur has the worst raid strike rate (35) and Rahul Chaudhari has the 5th worst raid strike rate (41). The fact that two of Tamil Thalaivas lead raiders feature in the list seems to be a huge area of concern.
 

Best Raid SR - PKL 2019				Worst Raid SR - PKL 2019
Raider	Raid SR			Raider	Raid SR
Pawan Sehrawat	68			Ajay Thakur	35
Naveen Kumar	61			Rohit Kumar	36
Siddharth Desai	57			Manjeet	39
Maninder Singh	55			Rohit Gulia	40
Pardeep Narwal	53			Rahul Chaudhari	41

 

The general theory is that experienced raiders come on top in high pressure situations. However, the experienced Ajay Thakur has the highest failed D-o-D raid this season. On the other hand, the young and inexperienced Naveen Kumar has the least failed D-o-D raid percentage.

Least Failed D-o-D Raid % - PKL 2019				Highest Failed D-o-D Raid % - PKL 2019
Raider	Failed Raid %			Raider	Failed Raid %
Naveen Kumar	30%			Ajay Thakur	71%
Abhishek Singh	39%			Rohit Gulia	71%
Manjeet	40%			Rohit Kumar	68%

 

Naveen Kumar: Chance to equal Pawan Sehrawat’s feat

Naveen Kumar is a SUPER 10 away from equaling Pawan Sehrawat’s feat of achieving most SUPER 10s in a season. If he manages to achieve this, he still has only Pardeep Narwal to conquer and win the race.
 

Most SUPER 10s in a season - PKL
Raider	Season	Super 10s
Pardeep Narwal	PKL 5	19
Pardeep Narwal	PKL 6	15
Pawan Sehrawat	PKL 6	13
Naveen Kumar	PKL 7*	12*