Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Five talking points from Day 34 of PKL 5

Kabaddi action resumed after a day's break at the Netaji Subhash Institute of Indoor Sports and defending champions Patna Pirates were back in action against Zone A's Jaipur Pink Panthers side who were without the services of Jasvir Singh. The result was one of the most one-sided games of Season 5 as Jaipur surrendered long before the final whistle went off. Pardeep knocked off several records to rack up 21 points in the game.

The second game of the inter-zone night saw high-flying Bengal Warriors of Zone B clash against the Steelers from Haryana of Zone A. For most of the match, it was one-way traffic as a tired Bengal didn't look a match for Haryana Steelers who overcame a late comeback by the home team to end the match with a seven-point lead, breaking Bengal's seven-match unbeaten streak.

Here are the five talking points of the day.

#1 Pardeep reaches raid points century in style

It was a Pardeep Narwal show all the way on Tuesday against Jaipur Pink Panthers

Approaching an important milestone, Pardeep Narwal looked completely unfazed when the game began and went about his job of demolishing the opposition to shreds. It didn’t take him a lot of time to notch up his century of raid points in Season 5 of Pro Kabaddi.

Having come in to raid in the game’s 7th minute, he made a super raid of four points and took his raid point tally from 96 to 100 and, in the process, reduced the Panthers to just one man on the court. There were no celebrations of the milestone and what followed instead were some more tremendous attempts at raiding that brought him bucket loads of points and helped him end the match with another record. He ended with 21 points, setting the record for most raid points by a player in a match in PKL 5.

#2 Raider and leader Jasvir Singh missed

Even Monu Goyat made merry in front of a weak Jaipur defence on Tuesday

After Manjeet Chhillar was ruled out due to injury early in Pro Kabaddi Season 5, the leadership duties fell on Jasvir Singh's shoulders. For a man who, prior to this season, had been the team's regular captain, leadership duties only ended up enhancing Jasvir's game. Like the previous seasons, Singh once again became the focal point of the team and turned the side's fortunes around.

His niggle before the team's game against Patna Pirates meant that Navneeth Gautham took over the captaincy duties for the night. And all hell broke loose for the Panthers. Patna Pirates would have proved to be more than a daunting task on any day but without Jasvir in Jaipur's ranks, it looked like a huge mismatch.

The team didn't look organized on the mat at all and never looked like threatening with their raiding department. There was no coordination in the defence and the lack of PKL experience clearly showed. Worse, there was no communication among the players, something that Jasvir does brilliantly when marshaling his troops.

The team just capitulated in front of Pardeep Narwal and Monu Goyat as Jasvir Singh looked on from the sidelines.

#3 Muscular Maninder makes a mark for Bengal

Maninder collected 14 points on the night and was the team's lone bright spot

Bengal Warriors looked down and out after facing an All Out in the first half and needed something magical to come back into the game. In the next few minutes, Jalandhar boy Maninder Singh tried his very best to help Bengal turn the corner. First of all, he threw a charging Surender Nada away from himself to earn a raid point.

Next up, he had Nada’s number again but with him, two more defenders including Mohit Chhillar were pocketed too as he made a super raid to bring the difference between the two teams to just five points. A few minutes later, his brute strength was once again on show as he overcame a block to get his team yet another point. Maninder did exceptionally well in the second half to keep Bengal in the hunt and ended with 14 points.

#4 Wazir reigns supreme

Wazir struck blows at crucial junctures to ensure his team's victory

After a slow start to the tournament, Wazir Singh is now beginning to repay the faith the team management have showed in him, with some fine performances. Chosen bafflingly as the first choice raider of the team ahead of Surjeet Singh for most of Season 5, Wazir justified the management’s decision again on Tuesday when he made light work of the Bengal Warriors defence consisting of in form Surjeet Singh and Rann Singh.

After dealing the first few blows on the home team in the first half, Wazir came back again in the second half to get a decisive Super Raid which not only got his team four crucial points but also pushed a charging Bengal Warriors behind. That wasn't all. With Bengal managing a comeback in the last 10 minutes, Singh managed another two point raid to settle the matter once and for all. That raid also got him a well deserved Super 10.

#5 Maninder's costly lapse ends Warriors' comeback bid

Things could have been different had Maninder stayed on the court for Bengal in the last few minutes

Having made a habit of winning matches in the last five minutes, Bengal Warriors threatened a comeback when Maninder Singh, continuing with his good show, enforced an All Out on Haryana Steelers in the 34th minute and brought the difference between the two teams to a mere five points.

However, having kept his side in the game throughout, Maninder faltered when it mattered most. Going in to raid in the 37th minute, he lost track of the clock and instead of bringing the team a point that would have taken them closer to Haryana's score, he ended up conceding a point. Moreover, his absence from the mat meant Bengal didn't have any threatening raider in the dying moments of the game to help enforce a tie or a win.

And with that unsuccessful raid attempt of Maninder, Bengal Warriors' superb comeback came to an end and the team eventually lost by seven points.