Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Top 5 defenders from the Mumbai leg

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Most major names in the defence didn't have a great leg as new performers stole the show

The end of the Mumbai leg has brought the curtains down on another fine week of Kabaddi. Unlike last two legs. It wasn't the best of weeks for defenders as errors and raid points poured in like the rains in the city where the matches took place. Also, the team with the best defence unit - the Gujarat Fortunegiants couldn't take the mat in this leg because Mumbai rains forced their match to be cancelled.

However, despite that, there were several standout defenders on show in Mumbai who enthralled spectators at the DOME@NSCI SVP. The list surprisingly doesn't include names of some of the best defenders of Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 as either they didn't get a game in Mumbai or didn't perform as well as they had before this.

Here are the five defenders who shone bright in the Mumbai leg of Pro Kabaddi League Season 5.

#5 Vishal Mane

Mane's return to form is good news for Patna who are struggling with their defence in Season 5

Vishal Prabhakar Mane is a man as big as his name and has a commendable PKL record behind him. Yet, with the Patna Pirates this season, he looked a little out of place in the early goings. He had accrued a mere 12 tackle points from the team's first six encounters but escaped scrutiny on most occasions because of Pardeep Narwal and Monu Goyat's raiding brilliance.

But finally, against Bengal Warriors, Mane arrived in the manner most suited to him. Before Bengal Warriors staged a comeback, Patna rode on Mane's tackling brilliance to run to a healthy lead of 15 at one point. He brought out the double ankle hold to deadly effect against the Warriors and made life miserable for Jang Kun Lee.

He finished the match with six points to his name and it will be good news for his side if he can take the confidence from that game to the future fixtures as well.

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