Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: U Mumba skipper Anup Kumar heaps praise on rival raider Rishank Devadiga after close win

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Anup Kumar was at his mercurial best as he led his charges to a comeback win

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The first match of the Pro Kabaddi League 2017 in Lucknow between UP Yoddha and U Mumba proved to be pretty disappointing for home fans. The slogan ‘Muskaraiye aap Lucknow mei hai’ didn’t work very well for them as they lost the first match at their home ground. U Mumba, on the other hand, were all smiles after winning the match.

Anup Kumar was all praises for his team members and reserved a special word for Shabeer Bapu for his great efforts and an epic comeback after an injury. Anup didn’t shy away from commending his ex-team member from U Mumba Rishank Devadiga in the post-match press conference.

The 'Bonus ka Badshah', as he is fondly known, said, “It was very tough to tackle him as he was in great form and played very well.” Nitin Tomar, the skipper of the Yoddha, on the other hand, was disappointed with his performance in the match and admitted that he made some poor decisions that cost his side the game.

Rishank’s outing was praise-worthy but he couldn’t take his team to victory, so his disappointment was pretty evident as all his efforts went down the drain.

UP hit it off in the beginning as captain, Nitin Tomar totally proved his worth in the first half by raiding wonderfully and getting the team some good points. But with their weak defense and a few loop holes in the coordination of the team, they kept losing points in the second half giving way to U Mumba to take the match.

Mumbai fought back after a slow start and gained momentum after they were all out in the first half in the 11th minute. Their skipper Anup showed some great skills while managing his players in the second half and ensured that their shoulders didn't drop after the poor opening minutes.

U Mumba scored some glorious points in the second half by building pressure on the opposition. Shabeer Bapu produced one of the moments of the season with a fine raid that saw him cross the midline by width of a fingernail. A powerful block by the Mumbai defense to stop Mahesh Goud was a crucial point towards the end.

It was a nail-biting first match in Lucknow, with U Mumba recording a fine win. Hopefully, Lucknow see much more spectacular action in the coming days. It will be interesting to see if U Mumba continues its winning streak in their match against Telugu Titans on Saturday or not.

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