Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Five talking points from Day 48 of PKL 5
The last day of the Ranchi leg had two mouth-watering contests in store for fans of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 as the Haryana Steelers faced Jaipur Pink Panthers minus their star raider Jasvir Singh while home team Patna Pirates took on struggling UP Yoddha.
It was difficult to separate the two teams in the first game as both rode on some exceptional defending to stay in the hunt for the major part of the match before the Steelers narrowly edged ahead to get a four-point win over the Panthers. In the other match of the day, led by a phenomenal Nitin Tomar who racked up 18 points on the night, UP Yoddha ended Patna Pirates' unbeaten home run and avenged their defeat at the hands of Patna a few days ago.
Here are the five talking points from the 48th day of Season 5 of Pro Kabaddi League.
#1 Confident Chhillar's surprise move
Captain Chhillar was back in the team and if anybody missed his comeback in the last few matches, he made them notice his presence first up on Thursday. He was in action when he brought Pawan down to get his team the first points of the day with a brilliant ankle hold.
Next up, buoyed by his tackling success and in a move that surprised many, he was busy taking the raid for the Panthers. While Chhillar often has raided for his team but seeing him raiding so early in the match definitely made some heads turn.
Although he made an empty raid, he succeeded in making his intentions clear. Despite his team finishing second in the contest, he was in his elements on the night. He came good twice in the first half when in 15th minute and 17th minute when he brought down Wazir Singh with some fine tackles.
Not just that, Chillar was flexible with his position on the mat and always attacked the raider in the first half. He was even good with the review on the night, a part of the game he has traditionally struggled with.