Former U Mumba captain, Anup Kumar is going to be on the mat against them for the first time in PKL. He led them to the play-offs in the first three seasons of Pro Kabaddi League including, where they managed to win the title in the second edition of the league. Meanwhile, Mohit Chhillar will play without his left-corner partner Surender Nada for the first time. Both the stars played together in first 5 seasons -PKL 1-3 – U Mumba, PKL 4 – Bengaluru Bulls & PKL 5 – Haryana Steelers.
Follow the PKL 2018, U Mumba vs Jaipur Pink Panthers highlights, below –
Match ends
U Mumba turned the match on it head in the final few minutes of the game as they register a stunning 39-32 win over Jaipur Pink Panthers. Siddharth Desai was once again the star for U Mumba as he ended the match with 13 points to his name.
Panthers struggling now
Siddharth Desai wins another three points for his team as he effects an all-out. With that, U Mumba have taken a 38-30 lead in the match with just over a minute to go.
U Mumba hit back
The players of U Mumba have turned the match on its head a they have now opened up a three-point lead. Desai won a point for them and then, U Mumba defenders effect a super tackle to win two points. Rohit Balyan wins another raid point for them as U Mumba lead 34-30 with two minutes to go.
Panthers take lead once again
This see-saw match heads into the direction of Panthers once more after Anup Kumar wins two points in as many raids. To make matters worse for U Mumba, Atrachali has to go out of the court after Anup’s stunning play. Panthers lead 30-27 with five minutes left to be played.
U Mumba level score
Siddharth Desai has continued his good run of form in the tournament has he has helped his team level the score at 25-25. Desai wins his 8th raid point as U Mumba are right back in the match with 8 minutes left to be played.
All-out
Anup Kumar is the last Jaipur player to fall as U Mumba have effected their first all-out of the day. Jaipur are now leading by just one point courtesy of that stunning all-out by the defenders.
U Mumba squander glorious chance
Panthers were down to just one man after Desai got rid of two defenders during his raid. But during Panthers’ raid, Atrachali failed to grab Amit Kumar and he won a point for team but more importantly, he successfully revived one of his teammates. Panthers now lead 20-17. Had skipper Atrachali kept his cool and gotten hold of Amit, the Panthers would have been all-out.
Panthers steady in second half
Jaipur Pink Panthers have made a steady start to the second half and they will look to maintain it. But Siddharth Desai is keeping U Mumba in the match with his raid point and he wins his first of the second half. Jaipur lead 17-14.
Half-time
Jaipur Pink Panthers hold a two-point lead at half-time over U Mumba. Fazel Atrachali’s troops did well in the dying seconds of the half to storm right into the match after a shaky start. Jaipur lead 15-13.
U Mumba issue fightback
Rohit Baliyan wins a raid point and then, skipper Atrachali brings down Deepak Hooda. Siddharth Desai wins a point for U Mumbai after Bajirao failed to grab him. U Mumbai have cut down Panthers’ lead to just two points now.
Points hard to come by for both teams
In the last couple of minutes, both teams are displaying cautious kabaddi as the raiders are not going for the kill. In his do or die raid, Siddharth Desai is taken out by the Jaipur defenders while Nitin Rawal is then brought down by the Mumba defenders. Panthers lead 14-10.
All-out
Jaipur Pink Panthers have effected the first all-out of the day as they get rid of Siddharth Desai, who was the lone man standing for U Mumba. Panthers now lead 11-5 with 10 minutes to go in the first half.
U Mumba struggling
Anup Kumar grabs hold of Maghsodlou’s leg and Panthers win a point. Things go worse for U Mumba as Fazel Atrachali wanders out of the court and concedes another point. Jaipur lead 7-4
Panthers surge ahead
Abhishek Singh is taken out by the Jaipur defenders in his do or die raid and Panthers have now opened up a three-point lead in the early parts of the first half. Panthers lead 5-2.
Good start for both teams
Siddharth Desai won a bonus point in the first raid of the match but Maghsodlou is taken out by the Panthers. Deepak Hooda then wins a raid point as Panthers head into an early lead.
Toss
Jaipur Pink Panthers have won the toss and Anup Kumar has opted for the right hand side of the court. This means that U Mumba will start the proceedings with the first raid of the day.
Match about to begin
The players are making their way into the middle and the first to come out are the first-ever champions Jaipur Pink Panthers. U Mumba players are also out on the court and the blockbuster clash is all set to begin in few minutes.
Captain Marvel
After captaining U Mumba for full 5 seasons, Captain cool Anup Kumar is going to wear different colors for the first time in PKL. Anup is going to lead the Jaipur Pink Panthers, which defeated U Mumba (in Anup’s captaincy) in PKL 1 finals.
Head to head
U Mumba have defeated Jaipur Pink Panthers in 6 of their 12 encounters in PKL and Jaipur have defeated U Mumba 5 times, with 1 tie between the two. Their last 5 encounters in PKL have all ended with a point difference of less than 7. These teams were the finalists in the Inaugural PKL. Jaipur came out on top to win the first PKL title.
Hello and welcome
A very warm welcome to the live blog of the Pro Kabaddi League match 8 between U Mumba and Jaipur Pink Panthers. The Zone A match will be played at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium in Chennai.
Source: HindustanTimes