Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Top 5 defenders from the Chennai Leg

The just-concluded Chennai leg of the Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5 was a witness to some exceptional defensive skills. That Surender Nada of the Haryana Steelers will score a High-5 is not a surprise anymore.

But along with him, there were some fine performances put in by some other defenders as well that made the leg thrilling.

Here are the top 5 defenders from the Chennai leg:

Surender Nada (Haryana Steelers)

Scoring High-5s comes easy to Surender Nada. No wonder the Haryana Steelers captain leads the Tackle Points Leaderboard with 66 points so far in the fifth season of the Pro Kabaddi League.

From the left corner position, he ensured that the Steelers remained steely in their defence as he made life hard for U Mumba’s Anup Kumar and Kashiling Adake. Nada has been outstanding for most of the season and on Wednesday night too, he oozed brilliance through yet another High-5 performance.

The unstoppable Surender Nada also reached a milestone by becoming the fourth player to register 200 PKL tackle points.

Mohit Chhillar (Haryana Steelers)

Mohit Chhillar (front left) scored in all four of his tackle attempts

Mohit Chhillar has been inconsistent of late but on Wednesday night, he came alive against the former champions U Mumba. The right corner defender was at his brilliant best that later earned him the ‘Most Dependable Player of the Match’ award’ and also plaudits from his captain Surender Nada.

Chhillar could not manage a High-5 like Nada on the night but his sense of anticipation and the timing of his tackles were pitch perfect due to which he had success in all four of his tackles. His two ankle holds on Shrikant Jadhav blunted the U Mumba attack. Apart from that, he assisted his skipper for a spectacular tackle on the Mumbai captain Anup Kumar to dash all hopes of the former champions.

Abozar Mighani (Gujarat Fortunegiants)

Abozar Mighani was absolutely fearless against the dangerous Patna Pirates

Gujarat’s Iranian import Abozar Mighani stood out for his fearless attitude that helped his team get the better of the two-time champions Patna Pirates in a blockbuster clash on the opening day of the Chennai leg. The right corner defender’s well-timed dives kept the imperious Pardeep Narwal at bay and consigned the defending champions to their first inter zone defeat this season.

Abozar was rewarded with a High-5 for his efforts that also took him past the 50 mark in tackle points this season.

Sagar Krishna (UP Yoddha)

Sagar Krishna (extreme left) was at his brilliant best against Pune

UP Yoddha were edged by Puneri Paltan by just one point but not before their left corner defender Sagar Krishna left an indelible impression. He put on a fabulous show in the first half that stunned the Pune franchise and raced to a High-5 even before half-time.

His resourcefulness was on display as he carved out an astonishing wrist tackle on Rohit Kumar Choudary after initially being cornered by the Pune raider. The Lucknow franchise will need the 26-year-old to keep on producing more such magic if they want to qualify for the play-offs.

Manjeet Chhillar (Jaipur Pink Panthers)

Manjeet Chhillar showed why he has been one of the best kabaddi players India has produced

Injuries have curbed Manjeet Chhillar from displaying his heroics in defence for much of the fifth season of the Pro Kabaddi League. There have also been times when he has blown hot and cold.

On Saturday night, Manjeet got his act together and fetched his team a crucial five points that helped them edge the Tamil Thalaivas by a solitary point. It wasn’t easy with the irrepressible Ajay Thakur scoring yet another Super 10 but the determined Manjeet put forth his champion qualities that led the former champions to a win.

By being on the mat for most of the match, he was successful in all but one of his five tackle attempts. That says a lot about the commitment of the man who was the Most Valuable Player in Season 2.