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Sunday panned out a blockbuster night of action from season five of the Pro Kabaddi League. Day three in Jaipur saw Gujarat Fortunegiants register a comfortable win over Patna Pirates in the clash of the titans.
The second match of the night was between hosts Jaipur Pink Panthers and Puneri Paltan, with the latter dominating the encounter to pick up maximum points.
Here are the talking points from day 63 of season five of the Pro Kabaddi League:
#1 Gujarat Fortunegiants controlled the match from start to finish
The team from Gujarat made a statement of intent, dismantling their Zone B rivals, Patna Pirates, 33-29 in an exciting match. The Fortunegiants controlled the pace of the match from start to finish, using their defence to generate offense.
They got great contributions from Sachin, who scored five points, including one very good tackle point, and Mahendra Rajput, who came off the bench to score six raid points.
Their defence stood firm, stopping the Patna raiders from wreaking havoc. Fazel Atrachali and Abozar Mighani scored five and four points respectively, while Sunil Kumar also chipped in with four tackle points.
The last time these two times had met, the outcome was the same, with the Fortunegiants' defence coming out on top that night as well.
The win also secured Gujarat Fortunegiants' position in the Super Playoffs.
#2 Patna Pirates' star raiders disappoint again against Gujarat
The two-time defending champions are heavily dependent on their raiders, Pardeep Narwal and Monu Goyat, for points, but both of them were outplayed tonight by the Gujarat defence.
The leading raid point-scorer in season five, Pardeep, was restricted to only four raid points by the Fortunegiants, as he was physically dominated and posed no threat to the opponents.
Monu Goyat did soldier on manfully, but didn't fare any better, scoring only six points while having to rely on bonus points to get his tally up.
The duo totalled nine points the last time these two teams met and only just bettered that tally this time around, finishing with a combined score of 10 points.
With the Pirates completely reliant on them to power their offense, it is up to Pardeep Narwal and Monu Goyat to get their confidence back for their next match against the Tamil Thalaivas.
After three losses in their last four matches, including two straight to Gujarat Fortunegiants, they would be keen to string a few wins together before the playoffs.
#3 Defensively dominant duo of Fazel Atrachali and Abozar Mighani tough to ignore
More than the fact that Gujarat Fortunegiants controlled the offensive juggernaut that Patna Pirates are, it was the ease with which they did it that was impressive.
The credit for that should be given to the two defensive stalwarts who ply their trade for the team from Gujarat, Fazel Atrachali and Abozar Mighani.
The duo from Iran occupy the two most important positions on the mat, with Atrachali playing left corner and Mighani playing right corner. They relish the big stage and were eager to take down the duo of Pardeep and Monu, as they understood the importance of striking a mental blow.
Using their strength and speed to great effect, the two of them marshalled their troops very well, with Atrachali using his powerful dashes and Mighani using his ankle and thigh holds to stop the Pirates.
Fazel scored a high 5, ending with five tackle points, while Abozar finished with four tackle points. With the two of them manning the Gujarat defence, they are primed to challenge for the title.
#4 Puneri Paltan's scorching start made the difference
The team from Pune started the match on the front foot, getting a good tackle on the first raid from Jaipur itself, and took off from there.
Their raiders returned with points on each of their trips into the Panthers' half. At the same time, the Paltan defence kept eliminating Jaipur's raiders, with Pawan Kumar Kadian, Manjeet Chhillar and Jasvir Singh all failing to score and getting caught out.
Rajesh Mondal helped secure the all out and that pushed Pune's score to nine points, with Jaipur still not having opened their account.
Finally, it took a big effort from captain Manjeet to score the Pink Panthers' opening point, as they got on the board to make the score 11-1.
However, the lead Puneri Paltan had established helped them play the match at their own pace as they controlled the tempo and won the match 38-30 to add six points to their overall total.
#5 All-round contributions make Puneri Paltan the real deal
The Paltan are a very well balanced team, with good defenders and raiders throughout the roster, and that helps them plan for situations accordingly.
In captain Deepak Niwas Hooda and Rajesh Mondal, they have two aggressive raiders who have the knack of getting both touch points and bonus points. Mondal is also very good at do or die raids as he uses his movement and speed to great effect. He ended up with a Super 10 today, scoring 10 raid points.
Hooda's versatility helps him contribute effectively on the defensive end as well. He scored eight points in total, including three tackle points.
The presence of Sandeep Narwal, who added three points, and Girish Maruti Ernak, who scored a high 5 today, makes the Pune defence extremely strong physically and adept at controlling the opposition.
They currently stand third in Zone A with 63 points from 16 encounters, having won 12 and lost only four matches, tied least in the league. If they win their matches in their home leg, they will rise to the top of the standings comfortably, which is an indicator of how good they are.
