Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Top 5 raiders from the Ahmedabad leg

The Ahmedabad leg of the Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 came to a close last night after a week long schedule held at the Arena by Transstadia. The viewers were treated to an exciting spectacle of 11 clashes many of which went down the wire and had the people on the edge of their seats.

While we witnessed some stellar defensive action in terms of brute strength being used to effect tackles, pushes and dashes across the mat, teams also had their raid machines come to the party.

The raiders, unlike the defenders, have one key advantage up their sleeves, they can pick up points in heaps and on some instances even wipe out the entire team as was evident when Mahender Rajput executed a five point raid in the match last night against the Bengal Warriors.

As such, there were quite a few players who impressed one and all with their attacking prowess on the mat and in accordance with that, Sportskeeda lists down the five best raiders from the Ahmedabad leg.

#5 Abolfazl Maghsoudlou (Dabang Delhi)

Abolfazl came into his very own in the match against the Tamil Thalaivas despite coming on as a substitute only in the second half of the match. With a couple of two point raids when he was the lone ranger on the mat for his team, the Iranian postponed the lingering ALL-OUT for Dabang Delhi and moreover, he helped his team level the scoreline at a time when they were trailing.

The tall, lanky raider used his height to great effect to leave the Thalaivas' defence hapless and managed to pick up 11 points to his credit despite the fact that he was on the mat for only the latter half of the match.

Ajay Thakur came into his own against Dabang Delhi, picking up 14 raid points.

#4 Ajay Thakur (Tamil Thalaivas)

After a slump in form, Ajay Thakur, India's World Cup star returned to form in a stunning manner in the match against Dabang Delhi wherein he amassed 14 points in all. In the capacity of a skipper, he led from the front showcasing all his skills one after the other.

Whether it was thriving in pressure situations on the do-or-die raids, getting in the swift touches, collecting the bonus from under the defender's nose or executing his trademark move - the frog jump - he did it all in the match against Delhi.

Sukesh Hegde looks to be back to his ominous best

#3 Sukesh Hegde (Gujarat Fortunegiants)

The former Telugu Titans man is now the captain of the new franchise, the Gujarat Fortunegiants in the fifth edition of the Pro Kabaddi League. In the team's home leg in Ahmedabad, he marshalled his troops effectively on the mat to complete an unbeaten run in their six matches which included five wins.

Hegde played a major role in the background helping his team cross the finish line, making valuable contributions to the scoreboard in his own measure, stepping up to the challenge of raiding as and when the situation called for it. This was evident with his stats of 27 raid points from the six matches that took place at the Arena.

Nitin Tomar got a Super-10 in the match against the Telugu Titans.

#2 Nitin Tomar (UP Yoddha)

The talismanic young gun fetched the highest money at the player auctions which were held in May and he has constantly been giving the team management the money's worth with his stellar performances on the mat. UP Yoddha played two matches in the Ahmedabad leg wherein they won against the Telugu Titans and played out a tie against the Patna Pirates.

In both these fixtures, Nitin Tomar spearheaded the attack for his team, getting a Super-10 against the Titans and then collecting eight points against the Pirates. He thus has the ability to leave the rival defence hapless with his rampant raiding.

Sachin Tawar has made this season of PKL his coming out party

#1 Sachin Tawar (Gujarat Fortunegiants)

He may not have the kind of fan following that his namesake from cricket enjoys, but Sachin Tawar is surely a star in the making, a forecast which was quite evident with the kind of reception that the young gun received from the homes fans in Ahmedabad when he stepped in to raid for the first time in team's last match at the Arena on Thursday night.

Whether it's the swift touches or the hefty ones, subtle bonus points or just amassing points in heaps, Sachin has done it all in the six matches at home and has proved himself to be a match-winner for the team.

Having collected more than 45 raid points which include two Super-10's, Sachin is surely one player to watch out for in the forthcoming matches.