Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Five talking points from Day 39 of PKL 5

#4 The Titans played like a side that was hurting

The Titans looked sharp from the get go even as the Steelers floundered

The Titans remember were coming off a loss where they had trailed 1-21 at one stage in their against the Puneri Paltan in their previous encounter. Despite managing to claw back into the game, they were embarrassed in the first half. It must have surely hurt and it looked like they were keen to set that right.

The non-performers in Rakesh Kumar and Vikas Kumar were dropped. Mohsen Maghsodlou started, providing a triple-threat raid team along with Rahul Chaudhari and Nilesh Salunke.

They just looked the more hungrier of the two sides on the night. Even though he scored just 10 points, Rahul showed so much more effort and energy in his raiding; something that had been missing during most of the games this campaign. He had 20 raids overall, Nilesh Salunkhe had 17 and Mohsen had 10 - a good spread overall. When Rahul doesn't spam raids out on the court, the Titans' fortunes are just so much better.

Vishal Bhardwaj turned down his hot-headedness and didn't rush into unnecessary tackles. He managed to overcome a scary-looking knock on his ankle to emerge the best defender on the night, finishing with six tackle points.

With the Bengaluru Bulls having won earlier in the night, the result was all the more important for the Titans as it helped them keep pace with the Bulls as they try to force their way into the playoff spots.