When an attacking team finds a way through the opposition’s defensive lines, it leaves one man to thwart the oncoming forwards. A goalkeeper may not always be in the thick of the action during a game, but it requires just one moment to blotch his record. Just as a hat-trick is ‘the accolade’ to a forward, a clean sheet is that honour to a goalkeeper.The Indian Super League as seen some outstanding goalkeeping this past month. From the Indian shot-stoppers to the more acknowledged and experienced internationals, we have seen some masterful skills on display. We look to analyse the top four Indian and top four international keepers in the tournament thus far. The order is determined in accordance of the ‘Save Percentage’ (SV%) for each goalkeeper, with the criteria being that the keepers must have played at least five games. We will first look at the Indian contingent. SV% is the percentage of shots on goal saved to the total number of shots faced by the goalkeeper.Top Four Indian Goalkeepers:1. Arindam Bhattacharya (FC Pune City): FC Pune City’s Arindam Bhattacharya leads the list with a save percentage of 85.71. Incidentally, his SV% is the highest, not only amongst the Indian goalkeepers but even amongst the internationals. Arindam has played five games for Pune, and has kept two clean sheets. He has let in only 3 goals out of the 18 shots he was up against, one being a penalty kick. Arindam also leads the chart for the Golden Glove award. Arindam won his way into the starting line-up after Italian Emanuele Belardi was injured, but has held onto his place even after Belardi has returned to full fitness. Belardi conceded 6 goals in four matches - though 5 of these came in one match, against Mumbai City. 2. Rehenesh TP (NorthEast United FC): Kerala-born Rehenesh TP is at second place with a SV% of 79.16. He has played in seven of NEUFC’s eight games so far and conceded 5 times. Rehenesh, who has previously captained his state team in the Subrata Cup, has three clean sheets to his name in the ISL. The 21-year old has kept Greek World Cupper Alexandros Tzorvas on the bench with his sturdy performances. 3. Subhasish Roy Chowdhury (Atlético de Kolkata): Kolkata-born Subhasish Roy Chowdhury is at number three with a SV% of 76.19. In seven appearances, he has conceded 5 times, but has managed four clean sheets. Chowdury, who faces competition from Armenian Apoula Edel Bete, has kept his place for a majority of the tournament so far and will only look to better himself. 4. Subrata Paul (Mumbai City FC): India’s number one finds his place at number four on our list with a SV% of 72.97. With 65 international caps to his name, Paul has made some exceptional saves but has also conceded cheaply at times for Mumbai City. Having played nine games for Mumbai he has conceded 10 goals. But even so, he has six clean sheets under his belt, which highlights Mumbai City's heavy losses on a couple of occasions (5-1 to Chennaiyin FC and 3-0 to Atlético de Kolkata. With Mumbai having played out their last three games as goalless draws shows Paul’s resilience in goal.Top Four International Goalkeepers:1. David James (Kerala Blasters FC): The England international who has represented an array of clubs in the English Premier League, perhaps unsurprisingly tops the international goalkeepers list. With a SV% of 81.48, Kerala’s marquee player and coach is second in contention for the Golden Glove. James has stood in goal on eight occasions this campaign, conceding only 5 goals - a tribute not only to the experienced Englishman's talents but also to the defence in front of him, which James marshals commandingly. A Premier League record holder for the highest number of clean sheets, James has managed four so far in the ISL. 2. Kristof Van Hout (Delhi Dynamos FC): The world’s tallest goalkeeper surely has height to his advantage but has managed to keep only three clean sheets in his nine outings for Delhi. With an SV% of 78.72 Van Hout has made far more saves than any other goalkeeper in the league, 37 saves to be precise, but has conceded 10 times so far. 3. Jan Šeda (FC Goa): Czech national Jan Šeda has kept his place in FC Goa’s goal for eight of their nine games. He has a SV% of 73.33 having let in 8 goals from the 30 shots he faced. Šeda has kept a couple of clean sheets as opposed to Laxmikant Kattamani who conceded 2 goals in the one start handed out to him. 4. Gennaro Bracigliano (Chennaiyin FC): Gennaro Bracigliano has an SV% of 64.28 with just one clean sheet to his credit. But the French shot-stopper has managed to retain his place against Indian Shilton Paul who has played twice in Chennaiyin’s nine matches. Bracigliano has conceded 10 times compared to Shilton’s one, although having played almost thrice the minutes compared to his Indian counterpart has contributed to the higher goals conceded number. The fact that two Indians feature in the Top 3 positions for the Golden Glove gives the other national custodians encouragement and a thirst to propel even further. The goals may have dried up in recent matches, but that only shows us the quality and determination of the shot-stoppers in the Hero Indian Super League.
