Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Five talking points from Day 64 of PKL 5

The SawaiMan Singh Stadium in Jaipur was simply buzzing with excitement after witnessing two very closely fought matches, as Pro Kabaddi season 5 action returned after a day’s rest.

In the main match of the day, hosts Jaipur Pink Panthers did further damage to their chances of qualifying for the Super Playoffs, as they lost out to Dabang Delhi by the narrowest of margins.

Meanwhile, in the inter zonal match between U Mumba and the Tamil Thalaivas also ended in great drama as the latter trailed the Mumbai outfit for most of the match, but came back strongly in the end, to finish just three points better.

Ajay Thakur: Raider, tackler, legend

Today’s match was all about one man, Ajay Thakur; at least for the Tamil Thalaivas. The star raider showed once again, why he can be a lethal force even when the defensive department of the side is not performing well.

He took up the responsibility for the bulk of raids for the Thalaivas. In fact, he made more than half of the raids for his side. By comparison, Shrikant Jadhav went onjust a little more than one-thirds of the total number of raids made by U Mumba.

Thakur was brought down only four times out of a total of 25 raids, something that worked well in the Thalaivas’ favour, as their captain constantly kept clocking in the points (total 16 points).

However, it was the last two plays of the match, when Ajay Thakur proved by he is such an asset to the team. With the scores tied at 35-35, Thakur stepped into the opponent half, and stole two raid points, putting immense pressure on Mumbai for their last raid of the match.

However, he did not stop there. He got in a crucial tackle right after that raid to give his side a three-point lead with barely enough time left on the clock for another raid, which was more-or-less rendered redundant.

Lack of experience cost U Mumba hard

Left without Anup Kumar, U Mumba lacked the composure.

Captain Anup Kumar’s decision not to play this game could have cost U Mumba dearly in the match. He is a natural leader on the mat, and the Mumbai side missed his guidance during the game, especially after the opening exchanges of the match.

However, as the Thalaivas started to grow into the game, the Mumbai defence lost their plot, and gave away cheap points to the opposition raiders. Not only defence, but the Mumbai raiding department also suffered due to the absence of Anup. Shabeer Bapu could not get a single point from his 11 raids, while Darshan Kadian just returned four touch points from his 13. That’s a cumulative raid conversion of 16.6 per cent.

Nitin Rawal: An all-round performer

Nitin Rawal came up with the goods, both in attack and in defence.

Although he could not win the match for his side, Nitin Rawal is someone who has played his heart out against Dabang Delhi. He was the highest scorer for the Pink Panthers, notching up as many as 14 points.

Rawal showed some amazing display of raiding, earning his side nine touch points. However, it was not just his raids that did the damage. He helped out in defence as well, making five tackles, out of which, three were successful.

Meraj Sheykh: The team player

Out of form Meraj Sheykh contributed both while raiding, and in defence.

The star Iranian raider has been out of form, of late, but showed his experience to clock in some crucial points during the match. His raid conversion has been low this sseason, and that is exactly what we got from the Iranian’s forays into the opposition half. He scored only five touch points from 16 raids.

The raider was also crucial in defence, making a couple of successful tackles that helped Delhi edge Jaipur by a single point.

Dabang defence the major force

Dabang Delhi's defence has bailed them out against the Jaipur Pink Panthers.

It is hard to point out any Dabang Delhi defender in particular. They have hunted as a pack, and have earned this victory against the home side on merit. The likes of Yatharth, Tushar Bhori, Viraj Vishnu Landge, and Meraj Sheykh all chipped in with a couple of defensive points each.

The defence, as a collective unit, helped Delhi seize the match, although they could not win as many raid points as the Jaipur Pink Panthers.