Pro Kabaddi League Season 5 : Captain cool, Anup Kumar lost his cool and he explained why

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Anup Kumar led U Mumba to their first victory of the season after falling behind early

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Having never lost the opening two games since Pro Kabaddi league's inception, all eyes were on U Mumba in Sunday’s league encounter against Haryana Steelers. After being 12-19 down, Anup and co. produced an astounding comeback to win the game 29-28. 

In what was a nail biting finish, there were moments where captain cool, Anup Kumar lost his cool and seemed frustrated with the referee’s decision. The captain revealed that his emotions are bound to get the better of him at some point in time. 

“Look, it happens from time to time. I thought they didn’t touch me and it was a crucial moment and I was given out by the referee. We were only four men on the mat. You can look closely, they never touched me, so I was a little frustrated,” he said.

Defender, Suresh had an arduous time on the mat. Haryana’s raiders kept targeting him regularly and it resulted in Mumbai conceding cheap points throughout the course of the first half. Anup admitted that Suresh was low on confidence. 

“Our right cover D Suresh was a little nervous in the first half. At half time, we discussed and talked to him. He displayed will power and played well,” Anup stated.

U Mumba’s defence once again looked vulnerable quite often. Haryana’s attackers found easy pockets within the opposition mat and the likes of Wazir Singh made merry of the situation but Kashiling Adake was in fine form and bailed Mumbai out from a difficult situation. 

“Definitely, in the first match we didn’t play well at all, this match we played a little better. But we are still only decent. You can’t even say we’re playing at 80% of our ability. I would say we’re still only at 60%. Once we play a couple more matches our defence will be set,” Anup explained. 

With Mumbai leading 25-24 at one point, they had only four men on the mat. They called a much-needed time out and it worked wonders for them. Within a matter of minutes, they once again had all their seven men on the mat. 

“Bhaskaran asked me specifically not to be aggressive. He told me if we make a mistake here, we will 100% lose the match. He asked me to control the situation and not to hurry. Let them attack”, he stated. 

Anup played against his former Mumbai colleagues Surender Nada and Mohit Chhillar. Although Kumar initially found it tough, he eventually emerged as the winner in their mini battle. Kumar though admitted that facing the Haryana duo is never easy

“It’s very tough to play against them. Not only for me but for every single raider in the league. Their combination works very well and they’ve been playing together in the league since day 1. They also play All-India tournaments together. Every raider is scared of them,” he signed off.

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