Pro Kabaddi League: Bengaluru Bulls hand U Mumba their first defeat of the tournament
13th August, 2014, Pune: After a euphoric start to the Pune leg of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi League, the swelling crowds at the Balewadi Sports Complex geared up for yet another captivating contest – a 40-minute action-packed tussle between the undefeated U Mumba and the determined Bengaluru Bulls. A match between two of the strongest looking teams in the League till now, the bout lived up to its entertaining best.
As the top-defender of the tournament Anup Kumar paraded into the field with his Mumbai boys, the crowd swore by their support for their neighbours. The Bulls on the other head looked no different, ready to charge through Mumbai’s undefeated streak and climb to the second position in the standings. However, putting an end to their undefeated streak, it was the Bengaluru Bulls who took the cake, scoring 33 to U Mumba’s 30.
Starting things off for U Mumba was the usual suspect Rishank Devadiga, ousting Bulls’ Preetam Singh. The star raiders of both the teams- Anup Kumar and Ajay Thakur got out in quick succession, setting the tone of the game. After a few quick-fire rounds Mumbai broke through as Ajay Thakur lost balance to be quickly captured by men in orange in a tight tackle. Another fierce tackle came at the 12th minute as Rishank Devadiga was taken aback by the charge of the Bulls, falling just short of the centre line.
As the game proceeded, Bengaluru’s Gurpreet Singh was green-carded for an attempted tackle after stepping out of the field of play. Neck in neck, the two teams played with a fierce determination. The two teams traded blow for blow until an unyielding tackle from the UMumba defence took Ajay out and brought UMumba ahead for a halftime score of 14-12.
Starting off the second half with a 2-point raid was Rishank Devadiga to make sure the close difference between the points get widened as soon as possible. After a couple of empty raids, U Mumba decided to extend its lead as Anup Kumar took out as many as three Bengaluru defenders. After a heated on-field argument with the Referee, Bengaluru Bulls’ Ajay Thakur earned them their second green card of the match.
Bulls’ skipper Manjit Chillar was instrumental in earning his team the first and only LONA points of the match in the 37th minute. Despite a tremendous final effort from U Mumba, it was not a blow they could recover from, and the game ended in victory for the Bengaluru Bulls.