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We got to see a tight, tense finish on the first night of the Delhi leg of the Pro Kabaddi Season 5. Some late heroics saw U Mumba snatch victory in this one over Dabang Delhi, winning 30-28 after a titanic tussle throughout the match.
Here's what stood out on opening night in Delhi.
#1 Shabeer returns to the fold
There are few raiders that are an absolute delight to watch more than Shabeer Bapu. The man almost has this cerebral, cool aura around him when he goes to work against opposition defences that makes him a rather silent, but dangerous raider.
Injuries though have been a thorn in his flesh that have kept him off the mat for long stretches in past seasons and for a while it looked like they might have scuppered his season yet again this year. So, his return to U Mumba's starting unit tonight was noteworthy as he took to the court for the first time in weeks.
He only took up four raids, three of which were empty raids, and scored just the solo point, but it was still nice to see him back. Hopefully, he can stay fit the rest of the season.
#2 Anup Kumar, the defender
Kashiling Adake has been having a steady renaissance after having a forgettable first half of the season. Shabeer Bapu's struggles meant new faces were tried, one of whom - Shrikant Jadhav has taken the opportunity with both hands and cemented his place in the starting 7. Anup Kumar is the captain, one of the best around, and a veteran raider.
As a result, Shabeer's return to the fold saw U Mumba opt not to drop any of their raiders and bring Shabeer into the fold in place of a defender instead. The left corner position has been a revolving door ever since Joginder Narwal went down with injury. Renjith looked good in spurts, but was too error-prone. So, Mumba went with their captain in the left corner for this game.
Initially, the move hurt them as Delhi jumped out to a big lead, but U Mumba managed to come back into the game and eventually were forced to bring an additional defender in Surinder Singh on to balance things out.
#3 The Meraj has landed
If there's one thing you notice about Meraj Sheykh when he's on the mat is how he's always on the move and always looking for the slightest opportunity to get one over his opponents. That usual movement and craftiness has been missing for much of his season with an ankle issue certainly not helping matters either. His explosiveness seemed missing.
He announced himself fairly well though on Friday as his side made their home bow for the first time this season. He looked pumped for this contest and delivered a typical Meraj raid. In the first half, with U Mumba down to three men, Meraj lured them into a tackle attempt. He was floored on the initial hit and despite the other two men joining in and clamping down on him, he continued to wriggle and somehow got enough separation to launch his body forward a bit more. The Mumba defence tried to yank him back, but he got his fingertips over the line to send the crowd into raptures and his team bursting with joy.
That 5-point raid - three touch points plus two for the All Out - saw the Dabangs take an 11-3 lead with just 10:27 played in the contest.
#4 Kashiling Adake - best defender?
With U Mumba playing so many raiders, some of them had to pick up the slack when it came to defensive tackle points. There was no shying away from defensive duties tonight for the raiders as Anup Kumar, Kashi, Shabeer all had to chip in with tackle attempts.
Rather ironically, it was Kashi who finished as Mumba's best defender on the night. The highly talented raider had 3 tackle points to his name from 4 tackles thrown in to go with 4 points from his raiding in this low-scoring contest.
His ankle-hold, in particular, did a lot of damage, managing to unseat quite a few of Dabang's raiders. It remains to be seen whether Mumba continue with this approach against stronger teams.
#5 Shrikant Jadhav comes through in the clutch for Mumba
The end of the game between Dabang Delhi and U Mumba almost resembled the climax straight out a western movie with Mumba's Shrikant Jadhav and Dabang's Abolfazl Maghsodlou trading shots like savvy gunslingers.
After the first half ended 16-16, the teams continued to remain neck-and-neck in the second. Dabang nudged ahead many times but were never able to secure more than a one-point lead at any stage. Abolfazl though gave them that 2-point lead towards the end with four minutes to go, but U Mumba snatched the game right at the end when Shrikant secured a brilliant 2-point raid to swing the game his side's way.
The two men had been battled right through the second half to give their sides the edge, but it was Shrikant who came out the win for his side in the end. He picked up crucial Bonus Points on a couple of Do or Die raids. His raid at the end followed by a crucial tackle from Kashi on Delhi's subsequent raid clinched the game for Mumba in the end.
Another stellar showing from Shrikant who has done nothing but impress since coming into the fold for U Mumba. He finished with a Super 10 on the night with 10 points and a tackle point as well for 11 in total.
