Fazel Atrachali (U Mumba)
In the absence of four U Mumba players, Iran's Fazel Atrachali finally got his moment in the spotlight - and he took it with both hands. The 23-year-old was a rock at the back, and the sight of him tackling down raiders through his brute strength was one to behold. With four points each in his two games, Fazel ensured the opposition raiders were never comfortable making inroads into the U Mumba defence.
Meraj Sheykh (Telugu Titans)
The Titans won their only match of the Pune leg - against season 1 champions Jaipur Pink Panthers - despite the absence of Rahul Chaudhari and Sukesh Hegde. There was one man who was chiefly responsible for the victory, and that was Iranian Meraj Sheykh. The 27-year-old turned on the style and put in an all-round effort against the Panthers, notching up 11 points. He made sure the team did not miss the absentees by filling in their boots admirably.
Manjeet Chillar (Puneri Paltan)
Manjeet Chhillar marshaled his troops well and was largely responsible for keeping his side disciplined in all their four matches. His side drew two matches and won one in front of their home crowd, and the 29-year-old ensured that Pune made up the gap to the top 4 by scoring 29 points. These draws against tough teams could prove to be decisive at the end, and help catapult Pune to the semis for the first time.
Jeeva Kumar (U Mumba)
The Pune Leg saw the teams amp up their attack rather than focus on defense. Quality defensive performances were hard to come by in many of the matches. U Mumba, however, kept their defence watertight and veteran Jeeva, who had a relatively poor start to the tournament, finally came into his own and set the platform for his team's wins. Jeeva performed strongly from the back and amassed six tackle points in two games in Pune. With two wins in their rivals' territory, U Mumba have now re-established themselves into familiar territory at the top.
