Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Five talking points from Day 14 of PKL 5

The Telugu Titans have had a rough time of it in Season 5 since their very first match. It did not get any better on Saturday evening as they suffered yet another loss and second to UP Yoddha. After a close contest, it was the Yoddha who won 39-32.

After dismantling U Mumba yesterday, the Gujarat Fortunegiants defeated Dabang Delhi 29-25 in a close encounter to become the first side to pick up consecutive home wins this season. They were run close by the side from Delhi, but put in strong last five minutes to wrestle the contest away from their opponents and win 29-25.

#1 Five raids completed inside the first minute

The match between the Telugu Titans and UP Yoddha got off to a frenetic start. With both teams boasting some very good raiders, the action was fast early on. So fast that five raids were completed before the first minute of the contest had elapsed.

You get 30 seconds for a raid and on an average, raiders take at least 20 seconds. None of the first five raids even crossed 15 seconds. Nitin Tomar, starting off proceedings for the Yoddha, was swiftly tackled even before he could settle into his raid. Rahul Chaudhari came in for a swift dash and picked up a point, returning inside 15 seconds.

Rishank Devadiga did likewise for the Yoddha. Vikas Kumar had no luck and was snapped up by the Yoddha defence before Rishank returned once again for another quick point.

It was 3-2 to the Yoddha with just one minute completed.

#2 Rahul Chaudhari has a huge Super Raid, but ultimately is trumped by Nitin Tomar

Rahul Chaudhari came up with a fantastic 4-point Super Raid

While the Titans went yet another game without a win, their star raider Rahul Chaudhari had quite a good game. In what was a close game, he started well, keeping his side in the contest and finished with a Super 10 and 12 points in total.

His biggest moment came in the first half where he effected a magnificent Super Raid to net his team four points. Yes, FOUR points!

The Titans had been reduced to three men and were trailing by one as Rahul went in to raid with eight minutes remaining in the first half. As the Yoddha's left corner defender touched him and Rahul turned to make his getaway, the help defence came rushing in to nab Rahul. However, the star raider managed to use his strength and just get his fingers over the midline even as he was brought down to the mat by the UP defence. The raid took out key men in Rajesh Narwal and Jeeva.

It was a moment that completely swung things around, as the Titans then led 10-7 and it was the Yoddha that were reduced to three men. Rahul had a fantastic game overall, going the entire first half without being tackled.

He was ultimately trumped by his opposite number Nitin Tomar who had a Super 10 of his own, getting his before Rahul, to lead his side to victory.

#3 Sriram fails to start again for Dabang Delhi

Dabang have made plenty of changes to the side

After failing to fire so far in the competition, the Delhi side rung some major changes to their starting unit. Defenders Bajirao Hodage and Sunil Kumar were both dropped unceremoniously. Both of these moves made perfect sense as the duo had been culpable of making rash tackles and giving away easy points to the opposition.

Yet, one decision that continues to mystify is the refusal to start Sriram from the beginning. The young raider came in for the injured Selvamani in Dabang's first match of the season. Despite impressing, he has been used only as a sub in every game. He came in once again today with his side facing a Do or Die raid and grabbed a point straight away. It was the 16th minute of the match, though, already.

For a side struggling for form, one would assume they would go with the men that have delivered from the beginning instead of using them only for parts of a match.

#4 Some Meraj Sheykh magic

Delhi captain Meraj finally had an impactful game

Iran and Dabang captain Meraj Sheykh is a fantastic player to watch in action. His energetic, all-action style has been a huge attraction in every season of Pro Kabaddi that he's featured in. This season has been a struggle though and he was even dropped from the starting unit for their previous game, only coming on as a substitute midway through the game.

He started today, but continued his fruitless run. Faced with two of his countrymen in Fazel Atrachali and Abozar Mighani in the left and right corners respectively of the Gujarat defence, Meraj made sure to not give them a sniff.

He exploded though for a gritty 4-point Super Raid in the fourth minute of the second half that gave his side the momentum with a 14-11 lead. It was a brilliant raid that featured his trademark jump. It was a very tight one though as he managed to secure the raid by getting one finger over the mid-line. The Gujarat defence converged and brought him down to the ground and they thought they had their man, but the veteran had managed to shift one fingertip over the line to make his raid a success.

Forget inches, it was a question of centimetres here.

A second moment of Meraj magic came in the form of a smart move on a Do or Die raid with 12 minutes remaining. Dabang were leading 18-15 at the point. He tried everything to get a touch, but the Fortunegiants' defence remained firm and didn't give Meraj a sniff. With time running out, Meraj was camped in the right corner. Sensing he wasn't going to make it back, he smartly made a quick step to draw his compatriot Abozar from the right corner, but then went into the lobby without getting any touch to get himself out.

Abozar was well into his sprint and could not stop himself in time and entered the lobby too, getting himself out in the process. The result meant each team picked up a point.

Meraj smiled knowing that he'd just pulled a fast one on the Gujarat defence while his fellow countrymen Fazel and Abozar hung their heads in anguish. A savvy veteran move by the Iranian.

#5 A different, yet shrewd challenge from UP Yoddha

Jeeva explains his rather uncommon challenge to the umpire

Towards the end of the first half, with his side leading 13-12, Yoddha raider Rishank Devadiga was captured. He had been having a stellar game until then and expectedly the Titans defence celebrated his capture. However, even as the Titans were patting themselves on the back, the Yoddha went for a review that would eventually drain all the joy from the Titans.

Experienced defender Jeeva Kumar walked up to the umpire and explained that Rishank had gotten himself out by stepping into the lobby without a touch and that his raider was out, but since he had gotten himself out, the defender who entered the lobby to tackle him was also out. The umpire was quite mystified as this was one of those rare instances where a team was challenging that their own raider was out. After some explanation, it was referred and Jeeva was proved right.

Since Rishank had stepped into the lobby without getting a touch, it was a Self Out, and Vishal Bhardwaj was also out as he stepped into the lobby while trying to tackle him. And that's not allowed - a defender can only enter the lobby if the raider has got a touch.

A brilliant bit of thinking from Jeeva gave both sides a point and helped his side keep the edge going into half-time.