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The Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 played host to a moment of history as the Patna Pirates clinched the PKL title for the record third consecutive time and the second consecutive time under skipper Pardeep Narwal, who scorched his way through the season with 369 total points from this season.
While the season saw a lot of Indian talent stepping up to the plate, the foreign talents were no less with some debutants such as Abozar Mighani, Mohsen Maghsoudlou making a strong impact on the league.
With the fifth season coming to a close and a lot of players shining through, we try and compare the dream teams, one from the Indian contingent and one from the foreign contingent.
India's top 7
Defenders: Amit Hooda (right corner), Surjeet Singh (right cover), Manjeet Chhillar (left cover) (C), Surender Nada (right corner)
Raiders: Pardeep Narwal, Rohit Kumar, Ajay Thakur.
The Indian contingent saw some of the biggest names coming good and what was good to see was that in the top point-getters bracket, almost all of them were captains of their respective sides which shows how much they enjoyed taking up the responsibility.
Pardeep Narwal continued his supremacy and by thundering through the opposition defence, the 20-year-old led Patna to victory and also recorded 369 points to his name, a record in the Pro Kabaddi League. The youngster showed excellent skills as he registered 18 super raids, highlighting his class and asserting his dominance this season.
Supporting his cause would be Bulls' skipper Rohit Kumar, who sweat very hard to accumulate points in a heap for his team but unfortunately, did not have a lot of support. However, his calm and mature raiding saw him end the season with 231 points while he also earned a lot of accolades for his timely tackles as well.
Thalaivas' skipper Ajay Thakur too brought all his experience into play and used his height to good effect, often getting the better of his opposition defenders with a hefty touch or an agile toe touch and will be fondly remembered for his outstanding raiding against the Gujarat Fortunegiants that helped the Thalaivas snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
On the defence front, Surender Nada played like a man on a mission and often covered up for the flaws of Mohit Chhillar, who did not have the best of seasons. Guarding the left corner, Nada fearlessly went in with the tackles and his dashes proved too hot to handle. He finished the season as the top defender with 80 points from 21 matches.
Amit Hooda, the left corner from the Thalaivas continued from where he left off last season and enjoyed yet another good season, leading a young brigade of defenders and collected 61 points from 22 games to rightfully take up the right corner's position in the dream team.
One of the biggest success stories of Bengal Warriors' good run this season has to be attributed to skipper Surjeet Singh, who not only led the squad fabulously well, he also made life difficult for the raiders with his colossal blocks and strong dashes.
Always on his toes on the lookout for a tackle, Girish Maruti Ernak played mind games with the raiders that came to good use as he often induced errors from them and pounced on them with either a double thigh hold or back hold from which there was no getaway. In the company of Sandeep Narwal and Dharmaraj Cheralathan, he made raiding look arduous and collected 69 points from 21 matches.
Foreigner's Top 7
Defenders: Abozar Mighani (right corner), Farhad Milagardhan (Right cover), Fazel Athrachali (Left corner)
Raiders: Abolfazl Maghsoudlou, Jang Kun Lee, Mohsen Maghsoudhlou.
All-rounder: Meraj Sheykh (C)
In a rather shoddy campaign for the Dabang Delhi, one of the only bright sparks was the form of Meraj Sheykh, who used himself primarily as a raider and collected 96 raid points from 20 games. With a unique ability to travel the court at a fast pace, the Iranian brought out the scorpion kick to good effect while he was also useful in the left cover position on many occasions as a defender.
Abozar Mighani, playing his debut season stamped his authority and how, amassing a total of 65 tackle points from 24 matches after putting in some vital ankle holds and strong thigh holds. In addition to this, he supported the others in the defence with strong dashes.
Picked as the priority pick ahead of the season, a lot depended on Fazel Athrachali to lead the defence and he responded fabulously well, leading his team to the finals in their debut season. Marshalling his troops from the left corner, the Iranian not only put in challenging tackles to pick 57 points from 24 games but played a helping hand to excellent effect which gave Gujarat the extra impetus to push for a win in every game.
Playing second fiddle to Maninder Singh all through the season, Korean Jang Kun Lee showed what he is made up of, collecting bonus points with ease to keep the scoreboard ticking while also going in for the Do or Die raids on some occasions. From 21 games, he picked up 89 points and his agile raiding caught the defenders off guard on many occasions that sees him take a place in this seven.
Tall and quick on the mat, Abolfazl Maghsoudlou made optimum use of the chances given to him and gave skipper Meraj the raiding support that he needed. Although he came in as a substitute in an initial couple of games, his ability to pick points consistently saw him feature in the starting seven while and was also given a go at the Do or Die raids in which he used his height to good advantage.
Following a good run in the Kabaddi World Cup, Mohsen Maghsoudlou was snapped up by the Titans in the auctions and although he was summoned only in some dire situations, the Iranian took up the challenge and delivered that took the Titans out of troubled waters many a time and his bond with countryman Meraj could come to good use for this team.
A strong defender with an ability to raid as well, Farhad Milagardhan featured in the Titans' starting seven and played a good hand this season. The Iranian all-rounder's understanding with Vishal on the left corner was a good sight to see while he himself put in some strong blocks and fast dashes to halt the opposition raiders charge.
