U Mumba started their campaign on a grand note as they defeated Bengaluru Bulls in the PKL Season 8 opener.
Abhishek Singh was the star for U Mumba as they beat Bengaluru Bulls 46-30 in the first match of the Pro Kabaddi League season on Wednesday.
The U Mumba raider achieved a Super 10 (19 points) and was supported by the team’s defense in a statement victory by the Season 2 champions.
Pawan Sehrawat had an off day for Bengaluru Bulls, who missed out on a quality third raider to support Chandran Ranjit and Pawan.
There were no spectators in the stadium due to the threat of COVID-19, but that certainly didn’t take away the energy of the match.
The first raid of the season resulted in a successful tackle by Harendra Kumar on “high-flyer” Pawan Sehrawat.
Mumbai dominated the first few minutes with Abhishek Singh scoring crucial raid points.
Mumbai captain Fazal Atrachali had little to do in the left corner, as his defenders Harendra and Ashish Sangwan ensured that the Bulls raiders struggled to collect points. U Mumba forced the first all out of the game in the 8th minute and opened a 6-point lead (11-5).
But the Bulls, the Season 6 champions, were in no mood to give Mumbai a healthy lead. Chandran Ranjit produced two super raids (3 or more points) for the Bulls to bridge the gap, but Bengaluru failed to bowl out when Abhishek Singh revived his team with a 4-point super raid.
The raider also scored a Super 10 (10 or more points) in the process. By half time, U Mumba had taken a seven-point lead over the Bulls (24-17).
The lack of do or die raids in the first half was a testament to the speed with which the match was being played. Bulls had just one tackle point in the half and they brought in Amit Sheoran.
But that didn’t stop U Mumba from getting another all out in the second minute after the restart. U Mumba’s Ajith Kumar and the pack of defenders ensured that the Bulls never narrowed the points gap.
As the Bulls realized a comeback, U Mumba’s “Sultan” Fazal Atrachali produced a super tackle with five minutes left on the clock and Ajith Kumar followed it up with a three-point super raid. U Mumba secured another all out with three minutes remaining to seal the match.
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