U Mumba defeated Bengaluru Bulls 24-23 in a thrilling contest at the Patliputra Sports Complex in Patna in match 23 of Pro Kabaddi 2016 Season 4. The most consistent team in the competition’s history had to dig deep to get the victory, as a result of which they now have 22 points in 7 matches, putting them second on the points table. One man who did not have a good night was Bengaluru Bulls raider Rohit Kumar and he was quite candid in admitting the same.
Talking after the game, Rohit said, “I decided to take a chance and go for raid, even the coach told me not to take risk he said that presence in the team is needed but I took the raid and got caught, and from there the match took a turn.” Nothing seemed to be clicking for Rohit on the night and he was taken out by a strong U Mumba defence, which was quite alert and on point.
Adding further, Rohit said that there was nothing to worry about for the Bengaluru Bulls as they still had their home leg to play, which is bound to turn things around for them. “We still have four matches in our hometown, we will play well and aim to enter the match scene again. In a tournament like this, things are bound to happen and you will lose a few matches but it is important to bounce back,” the raider said.
One man who would know a lot about bouncing back is U Mumba captain Anup Kumar, who was immense last night and single-handedly took his team to victory. Rising when it mattered the most against his former teammates Mohit Chillar and Surender Nada, Kumar showed why he is regarded as the best in business. It would be safe to say that the better team prevailed in the end as the nerve-wracking encounter saw Mumbai win the match by just one point, in a game that was full of drama and unpredictability.
The match was quite crucial for both the teams as a win would have put them in a better position on the table. The first 6 minutes of the game saw Mumbai losing their two best raiders, Rishank Devadiga and Anup Kumar, who were taken down by their ex-teammate Mohit Chhillar. A tactically engaging battle saw both teams indulge in some Kabaddi warfare of the mind and having a cautious approach towards the game.
But by half time, Bengaluru will comfortably leading by 6 points as the score showed 14-8 in favour of the Bulls. Rohit Kumar used his raiding skills to help Benalguru inflict the first All Out of the match. That is when Captain Anup Kumar came to the foray and showed some tremendous displays of his skills, and used his experience in the favour of his team. He helped Mumbai start the second half on a positive note by scoring 2 raid points.
He went on a rampage for 4 minutes and was unstoppable as the Bulls could do nothing to stop his dominance and were left clueless. He made some crucial raids and fetched points for his team, and showed his all-round capabilities by pulling of a stunning ankle hold in defence to stop the opposition from scoring points. Anup Kumar was on a different level all through the match as he had 11 points to his name, which included 9 raid points and 2 tackle points.
Rajesh of U Mumba was also interviewed after the match. He was asked about his feelings on playing in Patna again, after playing for Patna Pirates in the first two seasons, to which he said: “Patna has given a lot of love to me, and it is great to be here again.”
Luckily for Bengaluru, they can shrug off this loss and look forward to their home leg, which begins on July 12th. They have had a start-stop-start tournament but in a competition as unpredictable as this, where Patna Pirates is the only constant, anything can happen.
