Tackling a raider requires tremendous skill and timing on a defender’s part and often needs quick and decisive action from his teammates in assisting the tackle to stop the raider in his tracks. With teamwork being such an important facet of kabaddi, we list down the five duos that enjoyed the most success this season in defence for their respective teams.

1. Parvesh Bhainswal & Sunil KumarGujarat Fortunegiants

Gujarat Fortunegiants’ Cover duo of Parvesh Bhainswal and Sunil Kumar enjoyed tremendous individual campaigns and finished with the most tackle points among all defenders in their respective positions in Season 6. The duo often played in a chain and racked up a combined 162 tackle points, of which Bhainswal scored 86 and Kumar managed 76. Kumar ranked second in the league in tackle assists with 81 whereas Bhainswal notched up 53, the second-highest tally for a Gujarat Fortunegiants player.

2. Nitesh Kumar & Sachin Kumar – U.P. Yoddha

U.P. Yoddha’s Right Corner Nitesh Kumar delivered a historic campaign as he became the first player in VIVO Pro Kabaddi to score a 100 tackle points in a single season; and his partner on the opposite side of the mat, Left Corner Sachin Kumar, also had a strong season scoring 43 tackle points. The two combined to score the most tackle points by a Corner duo (143) in Season 6 and contributed massively in U.P. Yoddha’s deep run this season. Nitesh Kumar also assisted 53 tackles from his teammates whereas Sachin managed 46 in what was a stellar campaign for the two Corners.

3. Fazel Atrachali & Dharmaraj Cheralathan – U Mumba

For Season 6, U Mumba opted for experience in their Corner positions and it paid off as skipper Fazel Atrachali and veteran defender Dharmaraj Cheralathan combined to score 123 tackles points and help U Mumba finish second in the Zone A standings. Atrachali finished third in the race for Best Defender with 83 tackle points whereas Cheralathan made timely contributions with his 40 tackle points. Atrachali’s enthusiasm in helping his teammates complete tackles led to him finishing the campaign with 55 assists whereas Cheralathan managed 24 over the course of the season.

4. Abozar Mohajermighani & Vishal Bhardwaj – Telugu Titans

Telugu Titans’ Indo-Iranian Corner duo of skipper Vishal Bhardwaj and Abozar Mighani yielded 116 tackle points, becoming an extremely potent defensive duo in Season 6. Despite playing only 17 matches, Bhardwaj notched up 60 tackles points at a brilliant average of 3.53 per match while Mighani managed to score 56 tackle points in his 21 appearances at an average of 2.67. Mighani was quick off the blocks in assisting every tackle and finished with a team-leading 49 assists, whereas Bhardwaj was more calculative in his approach and managed 28 assists for the season.

5. Ravinder Pahal & Joginder Singh Narwal – Dabang Delhi K.C.

The leadership and experience of veteran Right Corner Ravinder Pahal and Left Corner Joginder Singh Narwal’s went a long way in helping Dabang Delhi K.C. earn their first ever Playoffs spot in VIVO Pro Kabaddi Season 6. The two stalwarts delivered stand-out performances in the Corner positions, with both managing over half a century of tackle points in Season 6. Pahal scored 59 tackle points while Narwal notched up 51 over the course of the season. Narwal finished second in assists for Dabang Delhi K.C. with 32 to his name whereas Pahal came in third with 23.