Patna Pirates are on a six-game unbeaten streak, Dabang Delhi earned their first win in seven games and Puneri Paltan solidified their position at the top of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL 9) table.
Here are the highlights of week five of PKL 9, in numbers.
1
Dabang Delhi's nightmare has ended. At least for now. After a shocking six-game winless run, the defending champions got back to winning ways with a victory over Telugu Titans. The problems, though persist for Delhi and skipper Naveen Kumar is still not in the best shape.
6
Patna Pirates, PKL's most successful team, are on a fairytale run. They failed to win a single match in their opening five games but are now unbeaten in six. They haven't done anything exceptional, they've just been consistent and that has helped their cause. They're now placed seventh with a game in hand and could potentially jump to the third spot with a win in their next game.
6
THAT Ajinkya Pawar raid.
The most controversial raid of the season [perhaps a close second to Mohammad Esmaeil Nabibaksh's right-point raid in PKL 8]. Just when the Telugu Titans' defence thought they had their man, Ajinkya cleverly played to the whistle and wriggled out of the tackle. He won six points and ensured Tamil Thalaivas another win.
26
Telugu Titans seem to find no respite as they've conceded a grand total of 26 All-Outs - the most in PKL 9. The Titans are still at the bottom of the table, as they have been from the start of the season, and have just nine points in 12 games.
39
We have a new entrant on the best defender list - Saurabh Nandal. The Bengaluru Bulls left corner has racked up 39 tackle points in 12 games at an average of three points a game. He also has the joint-most successful tackles [37] and has been a vital cog in the Bulls' resurgence.
40%
Siddharth Desai's PKL 9 got off to a slow start but he seems to have finally found his groove, although his team has not. Siddharth has three Super 10s from as many games and has scored 40% of Telugu Titans' raid points this season [80 out of 202].
41
Patna Pirates' comeback this season has a lot to do with Sachin Tanwar's superb raiding performances. Sachin has 104 raid points from 11 matches but what sets him apart is that he has a stellar 41 raid points from Do or Die raids. Pressure truly does bring the best out of Sachin.
135
Tamil Thalaivas have looked refreshingly good under new coach Ashan Kumar and a key factor for their recent success has been the defence. Stand-in skipper Sagar Rathee [36 tackle points in 12 games] has led from the front while the likes of Sahil Gulia and M Abishek have also contributed well in defence. Thalaivas have the most tackle points at the halfway stage of PKL 9: 135.
403
PKL's captain, leader, legend - Fazel Atrachali. The Iranian becomes PKL's most-successful defender and also the first player to cross 400 tackle points. He is the League's most expensive overseas player, has won two titles, two "Best Defender" awards and one runner-up finish. Is there anything the Sultan cannot do?