Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: 5 talking points from Day 30 of PKL 5
The city of Mumbai bid adieu to the caravan of Pro Kabaddi on Friday but not before hosting two exciting encounters. The first tie of the night saw Tamil Thalaivas take on Telugu Titans in the southern derby in presence of Thalaivas's co owner Sachin Tendulkar and his family.
However, even 'God' couldn't do much on the night as his team capitulated in a familiar fashion in front of a Titan defence which was exceptionally well led by young Sombir who scored 10 tackle points in the match, claiming the record of highest tackle points in a match in Season 5.
More stars filled the DOME@NSCI SVP for the second match which was the last of the Mumbai leg and saw traditional rivals U Mumba and Jaipur Pink Panthers lock horns. In one of the exciting contests of Season 5, U Mumba pipped the Panthers to the pole and scored their second win of the home leg but not before almost letting go of it in the last few minutes.
However, Jaipur's comeback and U Mumba's eventual victory provided the perfect ending to the Mumbai leg which saw the city brave rains that brought it to a standstill in the last few days and enthusiastically fill the stadiums and support Kabaddi.
Here are the five talking points from the 30th day of Season 5.
#1 Titans come back strong in first half
Match number 54 began for the Thalaivas in a fashion that would have made Sachin Tendulkar sitting in the crowds proud. The Telugu Titans were trailing by 4 points and weren't able to score a single point by the fifth minute.
But even with their backs against the wall, the Titans stung back in style and turned the tables on the Thalaivas in no time.
It all started with Sombir and Rohit Rana getting their team a super tackle by bringing Prapanjan down. The duo served Ajay Thakur with the same treatment in the next minute and suddenly the score was level at 5-5. Iranian all rounder Farhad Milaghardan came to the party next and nicked two successful raids to bring Titans to almost full strength on the mat.
In this way, before the clock had turned 10, the Titans were in the lead which they held on to throughout the match.