Panchkula: U Mumba edged out Tamil Thalaivas 36-32 in a thrilling encounter at a VIVO Pro Kabaddi League match at the Tau Devilal Sports Complex in Panchkula to move to the fourth spot in the points table on Monday.
Both U Mumba and Tamil Thalaivas started the game on a cautious note rather than blazing all guns. Athul MS got two points in a single raid but V Ajith Kumar pulled up a similar effort to level the scoreline at 5-all.
M. Abishek successfully tackled Abhishek Singh and Dong Geon Lee in succession but Fazel Atrachali's quick thinking in reviewing Rahul Chaudhari's raid, who went into the lobby without a touch in a Super Tackle position, brought U Mumba back into the contest.
Athul MS again completed a two-point raid to put U Mumba ahead marginally but the raiders and defenders of Tamil Thalaivas kept their calm to level the score at 9-all again.
But, Abhishek Singh was alert enough in his raids and bagged four points spread over four raids to give U Mumba 15-11 lead at halftime.
Abhishek Singh continued from where he left by taking out Hemant Chauhan in his first raid as the teams changed sides. U Mumba soon inflicted the first All-Out of the game on Tamil Thalaivas to extend their lead to eight points.
The 'Beast' Fazel Atrachali, who was slightly off-colour in the first half, put two successive tackles on Rahul Chaudhari with his signature backholds to announce his arrival into the game.
The raiders Athul MS and Abhishek Singh drew inspiration from their captain as U Mumba continued trading blows with Tamil Thalaivas while maintaining their eight-point lead all the way up to 30-22.
V Ajith Kumar bagged two touch points as U Mumba found themselves down to two men. But, a Super Tackle initiated by substitute Mohit Balyan kept them safe at an arm's length from Tamil Thalaivas.
V Ajith Kumar brought U Mumba down to a single man thrice but Sandeep Narwal delayed the inevitable by picking up solo raid points in each of his three raids in the dying minutes of the game.
He finally got tackled in the last raid of the contest for Tamil Thalaivas to inflict an All-Out. But, it proved to be a mere consolation as U Mumba won the tie.
Bengal Warriors beat Dabang Delhi K.C. 42-33
Meanwhile, Bengal Warriors closed the gap at the top of the table as they defeated the table toppers Dabang Delhi K.C. 42-33 in a VIVO Pro Kabaddi match at the Tau Devilal Sports Complex in Panchkula. Maninder Singh completed his 10th Super 10 of the season but injured himself too.
Maninder opened the account for Bengal Warriors by taking out Vishal Mane in the first raid of the game. But, Ravinder Pahal's quick dash ensured he found himself on the bench in his next raid.
Despite leading 3-1 in the early exchanges of the match, Dabang Delhi K.C. lost control of the game when Sukesh Hegde got two touch points for Bengal Warriors. Rinku Narwal's two tackles and consecutive successful raids from Mohammad Nabibaksh and Maninder Singh meant they inflicted the first All-Out of the game as the scoreline read 13-6 in their favour.
Naveen Kumar brought Dabang Delhi K.C. back in the game when he got two points each in his next raids to close down the gap. But, lack of communication between their defenders resulted in Delhi gifting away cheap points.
Soon, Bengal Warriors inflicted the second All-Out when Naveen got tackled and Sukesh Hegde took out Joginder Narwal in a one-on-one raid. The halftime scoreline read 25-14 in Bengal Warriors' favour.
As the second half began, Naveen Kumar and Maninder Singh traded blows for their respective sides but a combination tackle from the Bengal Warriors defenders took the former out. Dabang Delhi K.C. continued their shoddy defending as they crumbled like a pack of cards and got All-Out for the third time.
The Bengal Warriors built a mammoth 14-point lead but Maninder injured his left shoulder while conducting the raid and sat out for the remainder of the game.
Sensing his absence, Naveen Kumar trimmed the opposition manpower and the defenders kept their cool to inflict the first All-Out on Bengal Warriors. The lead got cut short to nine points but time was running out quickly for Dabang Delhi K.C.
The Bengal Warriors raiders utilized the luxury of time to the full extent as they clinched the tie.
