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Unlike the Ahmedabad leg which saw home team Gujarat Fortunegiants make merry, UP Yoddha didn't exactly have the most memorable of home legs in Lucknow. But the trend that continued from the previous leg of the tournament to this was the upper hand of defence over raiders.
The Atrachali-Mighani combination played just one match in the leg but made sure it was a record breaking affair. Surender Nada continued with his merry ways while Amit Hooda is developing into a reliable name in the defence. These are the best 5 defenders from the Lucknow leg.
#1 Fazel Atrachali
Having played the supporting cast to the brilliance of Abozar Mighani in Gujarat's home leg, Atrachali finally came to his own in the match against Puneri Paltan and made a strong Puneri Paltan raiding department look listless. He was ruthless with his blocks which he put to more use than dashes on Tuesday.
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He created a Season 5 record with 9 tackle points in the outing against the Paltan unit. Apart from the 9 points he got for himself, he was also vital as a support to other defenders like Bhainswal and Mighani when they brought down raiders and needed support to prevent the raiders from retreating.
#2 Nilesh Shinde
'Gutsy' got a new definition on Wednesday when Nilesh Shinde came back bandaged from a nasty injury for Dabang Delhi to end the match with a commendable 5 points, reviving memories of a similar act of bravery in Antigua by cricketer Anil Kumble a decade and a half ago.
Shinde had already been the team's leading light in the defence with two High 5s before the game against Haryana Steelers but the performance on Wednesday became special simply due to the massive amount of courage that was on display.
The 37-year old had injured himself quite early in the game while going for a tackle and clashing his head with another defender, requiring serious medical attention. To the surprise of many, it didn't take him too long to take the court and while his team struggled in the first half, Shinde provided the inspiration for the second half come back that almost saw them pull off a miraculous win.
Although the win eluded them, the High 5 was enough to underline Shinde's importance in the Dabang lineup.
#3 Sagar Krishna
His team might not have had the best of the home legs and might have fallen behind in the league standings after a strong start but Sagar Krishna is surely enjoying his foray in Pro Kabaddi.
Despite lacking a commanding physique, Krishna still manages to generate enough power in his thigh and ankle holds. He almost won his team the game against Pink Panthers in what could have been a super tackle, which was disallowed by the referee.
That apart, Krishna has grown in confidence with every game and from being unknown quantity, has become the most important man in the Yoddha defence. Lack of support from Jeeva Kumar has hurt Yoddha and if Kumar can bring his A game back, these two can wreck havoc in any raiding department.
For now, though, it is Krishna who has shone as the team's lone bright spot in his team's dismal home campaign.
#4 Amit Hooda
Another name who featured in the list of top defenders of Ahmedabad leg and won hearts with his game again in Lucknow is Amit Hooda. With more responsibility, Hooda has achieved the consistency that wasn't a hallmark of his game before. He was up to the task again on Wednesday as he helped his team rise from a seemingly hopeless position to score a tie against a rampaging UP Yoddha.
His 7 tackle attempts got him 6 valuable points for the team. In fact, he was key in keeping Nitin Tomar quiet as he foiled quite a few of Tomar's raid attempts in a match that saw the UP skipper just collect 4 raid points from his 14 attempts.
#5 Surender Nada
The last name on the list collected just two points from his last game. But it is what Surender Nada has done throughout the tournament and managed to do against the home team UP Yoddha that keeps him in this list.
Down by 3 points at the half time, Nada in defence and Vikash Khandola in the raiding department blew UP Yoddha off in the second half to give Haryana Steelers a victory by a huge margin.
It was the third match in the Season 5 where Nada had scored 7 points and before the match against Dabang Delhi, there wasn't a single occasion where Nada missed the High 5. That's why he sits atop the table of tackle points with 33 of them coming in just 6 matches.
Abozar Mighani, clearly one of the most dominating figures on that list, has three less than Nada in four more matches than him. That's how good Surender Nada has been in PKL 5.
