Five striking moments from the Kolkata Leg

The Kolkata leg brought the final week of the league stage action from the campaign, as six teams now prepare to battle it out in the Playoffs to be crowned champions of VIVO Pro Kabaddi Season 6. But before we head into the Playoffs, let’s look back at some of the milestone moments that were witnessed during the six days of action in Kolkata.

1. Maninder Singh becomes fastest to 500 raid points

During Bengal Warriors’ match against Telugu Titans, raider Maninder Singh became just the ninth player to score 500 raid points in VIVO Pro Kabaddi history. Maninder started the match against Telugu Titans 12 raid points adrift of the 500-mark and finished the match with exactly 12 raid points. It took the raider 56 matches to score 500 raid points, beating the previous mark of 58 matches set by Patna Pirates’ Pardeep Narwal back in Season 5. 

2. P. Yoddha’s late blitz earns them a Playoffs berth

With just 24 points after 16 matches, U.P. Yoddha faced an uphill task in their bid for a berth in the Playoffs. But four victories and a tie in their subsequent five fixtures left them needing a win in their final match of the league stages against Bengal Warriors to qualify. And on the night, captain Rishank Devadiga led the team by example with nine raid points as U.P. Yoddha beat Bengal Warriors by a comprehensive margin of 16-points to book their place in the Playoffs.

3. Deepak Niwas Hooda joins the 700-raid-points club

Against Bengaluru Bulls, Jaipur Pink Panthers’ Deepak Niwas Hooda managed to score 13 raid points in his team’s final match of the campaign and scored his 10^th Super 10 of the season. But with his third raid point of the night, the all-rounder joined an elite-list of players with over 700 raid points in VIVO Pro Kabaddi. In his 103^rd appearance, Hooda became only the fourth player in VIVO Pro Kabaddi history to reach the milestone alongside Pardeep Narwal, Rahul Chaudhari and Ajay Thakur.

4. Nitesh Kumar takes the lead in the race for the Best Defender Award

With six tackle points in his team’s must-win fixture against Bengal Warriors, U.P. Yoddha’s Right Corner Nitesh Kumar finished the league stages of VIVO Pro Kabaddi Season 6 as the leading tackle point scorer with 83 tackle points in 22 matches, two tackle points clear of Gujarat Fortunegiants’ Parvesh Bhainswal who is currently in second place. Both defenders, Kumar and Bhainswal, have already surpassed the previous record for most tackle points in single season - set by Haryana Steelers’ Surender Nada with 80 tackle points in Season 5 - and both players will feature in the Playoffs for their respective teams, in what is shaping up to be a close contest for the Best Defender Award. 

5. Lee becomes first foreign player to 400 raid points

Bengal Warriors’ Jang Kun Lee added another chapter to his storied career as he became the first foreign player in VIVO Pro Kabaddi history to amass 400 raid points. The veteran reached the mark in his team’s 37-31 victory over Bengaluru Bulls and finished the match with seven raid points, as Bengal Warriors completed a season clean sweep of the Zone B leaders. The South Korean also became one of only six players to score over 400 raid points for one team and is also the all-time leading points scorer for Bengal Warriors with 431 to his name.