Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: 5 talking points from Day 33 of PKL 5

Kolkata's Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium hosted two encounters on Sunday evening as Zone A's table toppers Gujarat Fortunegiants took on Jaipur Pink Panthers while Zone B's table toppers and home team Bengal Warriors squared off against bottom placed Tamil Thalaivas.

The first match saw the mighty Fortunegiants defence come a cropper, allowing Jasvir Singh's side to score an easy win with vital contributions coming from under fire Somvir Shekhar in the defence and raider Pawan.

In the other match, Bengal Warriors made light work of Tamil Thalaivas who staged their usual second half comeback, only to fall short in the dying moments of the game. For Bengal, their defence with Surjeet Singh and Rann Singh shone brightly.

Here are five talking points from the day.

#1 Ajit's double Iranian bonanza

Young Ajit took both the Iranian defenders off the court with one raid

Just 19 years old, Ajit Singh is playing in his first season of Pro Kabaddi League and in just his third game, on Sunday, he did something he can claim to be proud of for a long time. With his team’s raiders getting snaffled one by one by Abozar Mighani in the first half, Ajit went in to raid with his team trailing by two points. Till then the game had unravelled in a familiar fashion with Gujarat's defence calling the shots.

But Ajit turned things around with his magical raid when he first got out of Mighani’s constrictor-like ankle hold and then overcame a charging Fazel Atrachali to get rid of two Iranians in one go, something not many can claim to have done this season. More importantly for Jaipur, he levelled the scores and that began a passage of play which the Panthers completely dominated.

#2 Hegde's match turning lapse

Sukesh Hegde had another bad day in the office as skipper and raider

Sukesh Hegde’s mediocre campaign has been mostly obscured by his team’s good performances this season. But on Sunday he could not hide behind that curtain. After young Ajit had got rid of the two Iranians, the job was Hegde’s to get a do or die raid across.

Sadly, the captain, who didn't realise it was a do or die raid, came back with an empty one. That meant that Hegde had to leave the court and his team on the brink of an all out with just two men on the mat. Such an error would have made sense coming from a newbie but a team captain making such a huge mistake reflects poorly on him. The mistake turned the game as the team slipped from 8-6 to 8-13 in no time.

#3 Jasvir Singh vs Abozar Mighani showdown

Despite leading his team well, Jasvir Singh has left a lot to be desired

Honesty is not Jasvir Singh’s strongest suit and it has been a source of constant annoyance for referees and opposing teams alike. Even on Sunday, Jasvir tried his hand at some bluff while on the kabaddi mat. After being demolished by the Fortunegiants defence in an unsuccessful raid, Jasvir pointed at left corner Fazel Atrachali and indicated to the linesman that the Iranian was self out, which replays revealed was far from a fair claim.

With the match almost in the pocket in the second half, Jasvir again came in to raid in the last few minutes of the game and this time claimed to have taken right corner Mighani with a touch. Much to his joy, the referees confirmed it but Mighani was sure that there wasn’t any touch. Words were exchanged between the two and Jasvir had to be shown a card. Mighani, on the other hand, wasn’t ready to leave the court but had to eventually since the review had been exhausted in the third minute itself.

#4 Injuries rule the first half

Tamil Thalaivas mounted a strong comeback in the second half despite missing raider Prapanjan due to injury

It was a bit of a mismatch when table toppers Bengal Warriors took on Tamil Thalaivas in the 60th match of the season. Tamil Thalaivas, traditionally slow starters, were not expected to pose much of a threat to a rampant Bengal Warriors. In the absence of thrilling kabaddi action, injuries took centre stage.

Already missing the services of Deepak Narwal due to injury, the Warriors were dealt another blow in the first half when Jang Kun Lee’s shoulder took a battering during an unsuccessful raid attempt. Tamil Thalaivas raider and Ajay Thakur’s deputy Prapanjan was the next to join the injury list as he received a nasty bruise over his eyebrow that required immediate medical attention. Prapanjan’s injury put more pressure on Ajay Thakur while Lee’s injury forced Bengal to go on the defensive in the second half.

#5 Maninder's decisive super raid

Maninder Singh put a quiet first half behind him to come up with a decisive super raid in the second half

The second half brought the expected resurgence from Tamil Thalaivas. Having gone into the first half with a hefty lead, Warriors were forced to play defensively in the absence of their lead raider Jang Kun Lee who was nursing an injury. That played into the hands of the Thalaivas who upped the ante and crawled their way back into the contest in the last 10 minutes.

With just a couple of minutes left on the clock, the Thalaivas were breathing down the neck of the Warriors with just one point separating the sides. Having already played out three ties this season, it looked like it was heading for another one in the NSB Indoor Stadium.

That’s when Maninder, who was having a quiet game until then, sprung into action. The onus was on him to kill time or get a bonus to help the Warriors stay in the lead. But the Jalandhar boy, helped by the sloppiness of the Thalaivas defence of, made it a super raid and sealed the fate of the game. The Warriors, as a result, continued their dominant run in Zone B, giving the home crowd who had come out in large numbers to support their team, ample reason to smile.