Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Five talking points from Day 70 of PKL 5

Day 70 of the Pro Kabaddi League witnessed the Haryana Steelers defeating the Puneri Paltan and the Bengaluru Bulls thumping UP Yoddha. The Haryana-Pune encounter was a close affair, but UP were out of their depth against Bengaluru. So, without further ado, here are some of the major talking points from both matches.

#5 Rohit Kumar - Hero of the Day

Rohit Kumar was the standout player for the Bulls as both he and the team created history. He broke the 30 raid-point barrier to become the highest scorer ever in a single match. In the meantime, Bengaluru picked up the biggest victory in the history of the league.

To say that Rohit was in breathtaking form would be an understatement. UP’s defence was proof of the pudding. Kumar managed to accumulate a total of 32 points on the night, out of which 30 were raid points. He was not found wanting in defence either.

#4 History in the making

The triumphant Bulls

With a bit of help from a certain Rohit Kumar, the Bengaluru Bulls picked up their fourth consecutive win after registering a 64-24 victory over UP Yoddha. The reason why this win was so historic was that the winning margin was the biggest this season. Bengaluru began the match on a positive note and inflicted an All-Out in the ninth minute.

This was on the back of some clinical raiding from skipper Rohit. The Bulls took an 11-3 lead following the first All-Out of the match and never looked back after laying down the gauntlet at the end of the first quarter.

#3 Outclassed

UP Yoddha were no match for the Bulls on the night

In Lucknow's defence, they started with a weak side owing to the fact that they had already qualified for the playoffs. With star player Rishank Devadiga not featuring in the squad, one could assume that they were resting their big players for the playoffs. However, it wasn't total destruction as UP showed some heart in the second half.

They were even en-route to inflicting an All-Out. But a well-timed super tackle by Rohit and a super tackle by Preetam Chhillar scuppered their plans.

#2 Neck and Neck

Haryana Steelers in action

The Haryana Steelers beat Puneri Paltan 31-27 in the northerners’ final league match of VIVO Pro Kabaddi Season 5 at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune on Tuesday.

The first quarter was evenly-contested with the scores tied 7-7 after 10 minutes. Both sides opted to bank on do-or-die raids for the majority of their points. In fact, the opening period ended with a successful tackle on Pune's Rajesh Mondal in a do-or-die situation to make it all square at 11-11 heading into half-time.

The match was filled with do-or-die raids from both sides. In the end, the Steelers edged ahead and managed to keep hold of their advantage.

#1 Qualifying scenario

Prashant Kumar Rai (jersey number 11) was Haryana’s best performer of the match with a game-high 12 points.

Haryana, en route to their victory, managed 19 raids and 7 tackles. Pune achieved a total of 13 raids and 3 tackles. Haryana also bagged 2 all-out points compared to Pune's 0. Out of the extra points, Haryana accumulated 4 while Pune only scored 2.

With this win, Pune stay 2nd in Zone A with both teams qualifying for the playoffs along with the Gujarat Fortunegiants.

In Zone B, UP Yoddha, Patna Pirates and Bengal Warriors have qualified for the playoffs.