Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Five talking points from Day 56 of PKL 5

With Season 5 of Pro Kabaddi League reaching its business end, every match is becoming an intense battle looked on keenly by all the other teams who are trying to find a place in the top 3 of the tables of their respective zones. The four teams on the mat in Chennai were UP Yoddha and Puneri Paltan in the first match and Tamil Thalaivas and Jaipur Pink Panthers in the second game of the doubleheader.

In the first match, Deepak Niwas Hooda appeared head and shoulders above all with a 16 point performance but his team was still given a hard time by a spirited UP Yoddha who lost on the buzzer raid. Even Jaipur Pink Panthers and Tamil Thalaivas fought hard and it was only in the last minute that a Jaipur win became certain.

Here are the five points of the day

#1 Hooda's injury scare brings the contest to a standstill

A lot of people had their hearts in mouth when Hooda's fell on the mat holding his head after Jeeva Kumar's dash attempt

Having put his team in a position of strength with a couple of super raids already, Deepak Niwas Hooda went in again to attack the right flank of the UP defence in the 13th minute of the game. After cornering the Yoddha's right corner but unable to get a hand touch on him, Hooda was retreating to safety when a charging Jeeva Kumar tried to put a dash on him. Although his attempt was unsuccessful, his hand managed to hit the Puneri Paltan captain in the neck region.

The scenes that followed weren’t the most pleasant as Hooda sat on the mat groggy and dazed calling for medical attention. The medics appeared quickly from the background to help him to his feet and those who had their hearts in their mouth saw their tensions cool down when Hooda was back on his raiding duties in the next few minutes.

The incident, however, once again brought to the fore the dangers the players are exposed to in this game due to its extreme physical nature.

#2 Sagar Krishna brings out the Wuxi finger hold

Sagar Krishna had a spectacular first half of the match but didn't make an impact in the second half

UP Yoddha Left Corner Sagar Krishna is one of the many brilliant defenders that Season 5 has given to Pro Kabaddi League and, even on Saturday, he looked in top form in the game against Puneri Paltan. Such was his performance on the night that he raced to a High 5 in the first half itself. But it was his sixth tackle point that provided the moment of the day as it reminded viewers of the Wuxi finger hold from Kung Fu Panda’s famous climax scene.

Cornered by Rohit Kumar Chaudhary, a super vigilant Krishna caught hold of Chaudhary’s hand with which he was trying to get a running hand touch on the defender and powerfully held on to him until support arrived and helped him complete the tackle. While ankle and thigh tackles have been on display aplenty in Pro Kabaddi League, a wrist tackle was hitherto unheard of. Surely, this young man is headed for some greatness.

#3 Demolition man Deepak does the job

Deepak Niwas Hooda kept his calm and saw his team home on the last raid

For the most part of the match, there seemed to be only one man on the mat who was doing everything for Puneri Paltan, mostly the raiding and the celebrating bit. One of the most reliable yet underrated raider in the league, who also does a terrific job at handling the leadership duties, Hooda was absolutely on fire on Saturday. And caught in the flames was the UP Yoddha side.

If his 16 points from the 18 raid attempts don’t tell how good he was, he also put in three super raids on the day. He had the wood on UP Yoddha’s Jeeva Kumar who, despite having been in some good form of late in the tournament, just couldn’t seem to touch Deepak without conceding a point.

Yet, even after getting 16 points from his 17 attempts, thanks to a stunning comeback from UP Yoddha, it all came down to Hooda’s final raid. With a point ahead, all that the tall raider had to do was to cross the baulk line. However, the Yoddha put up a high line defence and looked set to not allow him a legitimate raid. But just like he had done it all night, he used all his guile to push the right corner behind and make his raid legitimate and consequently, win the game for his team.

#4 Selvamani hobbles off... again

Selvamani didn't take any further part in the match after the 4th minute due to his injury

Having vanished after the first match of the tournament due to an injury, a lot was expected out of Jaipur Pink Panthers Selvamani K on his comeback especially because his team needed someone to deliver what Jasvir Singh was failing to as the team’s lead raider. However, it looks like the comeback was short-lived as the youngster hobbled off the mat only in the 4th minute of the game after another knee injury.

He came attacking the left corner but twisted his ankle and let out a scream of anguish. His subsequent absence from the mat in the match meant more responsibility fell on the shoulders of Pawan Kumar who has emerged as the leading raider for Panthers out of nowhere. Luckily for Panthers, Pawan and Tushar Patil were up to the task on the night and helped their team eke out a narrow one-point win.

#5 Captain Chhillar comes to the fore

Both as a captain and defender, Chhillar was in his elements on the night against Tamil Thalaivas

He has blown hot and cold. He has had injury issues and missed out on a number of games for his team. He has come under some scrutiny as well for his behaviour. But none of it changes Manjeet Chhillar one bit every time he takes on the mat. He took the court with the same focus and intensity with which he takes it every time. But what was different on Saturday was the outcome.

It wasn’t that everything came off for him on the night but he still fought on. Unfazed by the brilliance of his good friend Ajay Thakur, who once again put a phenomenal performance only to be let down by his teammates, Manjeet kept on marshalling his troops from his left corner position. He was on the mat for the most part of the match and was in complete control of his team throughout the game.

From defying coach’s orders to fighting with the officials for a point, Manjeet did it all on the night. But, more importantly, got his team five crucial points as well.