Kabaddi, Kabaddi ,Kabaddi—this fast cry will be heard very clearly as U Mumba battle it out against Patna Pirates in the Pro Kabaddi League on Tuesday at the National Sports Club of India in Mumbai.
Mumbai's U Mumba are led by Anup Kumar while Patna Pirates will play under Rakesh Kumar.
So far in this eight-league tournament, U Mumba, along with Bangalore's Bengaluru Bulls, have dominated. The Anup Kumar-led outfit are yet to lose in this tournament. They are on top of the points table with 13 points to their name while Bengaluru are second with 10 points.
Rakesh Kumar's Patna Pirates are yet to play their first match of the Pro Kabaddi League.
U Mumba started their competition on an excellent note as they emerged triumphant in their first encounter. This match also kick-started the Pro Kabaddi League on Saturday. U Mumba romped home against the Jaipur Pink Panthers .
Anup Kumar's boys were clear victors as they were aggressive throughout the game, which they completely dominated. By the time the first half ended the team from Mumbai had made their intentions clear as they had taken a big lead with the scores at 25-12.
It seemed they was no stopping Anup Kumar's boys as they continued in the same vein. U Mumba hammered home the advantage as they won 45-31.
Raids into the Jaipur Corner constituted their methods of attacking. The star was skipper Anup Kumar who scored 14 points.
In their second game, U Mumba faced quite a challenge from the Bengal Warriors. The Nilesh Shinde captained Bengal Warriors gave the boys from Mumbai a fright as at halftime. U Mumba led by only a solitary point as the scoreline was 14-13.
In the second half, as the crowd got behind them, their performance saw considerable improvement. The more U Mumba scored, the more chants of Mumbai Mumbai reverberated throughout the stadium.
In a matter of 10 minutes U Mumba were the holders of a 14-point lead. Shabeer Bapu Sharfudheen's stellar performance of scoring 15 points stood out. In the end the score was 36 to 25 in U Mumba's favour.
In their third game, U Mumba faced a tougher time at the hands of the Telugu Titans and failed to win the game. A very exciting encounter it was as neither team could seize the ascendancy. In the end both teams tied the game 35-35.
So far their skipper Anup Kumar has been their main man while Shabeer Bapu Sharfudheen has shown he can be more than a handful. If he's given a chance he can win the game single-handedly.
The fact that they conceded no less than 13 points in the first half against Bengal and 35 when playing the Telugu Titans, suggests their defence could be strengthened. The offence, which has done well in all the games, will look to continue in the same vein.
The Patna Pirates will be looking to open their account against U Mumba, also the first game of the Pro Kabaddi League for them.
In their skipper Rakesh Kumar they have somebody who's excelled in the sport. To add to this, he's the highest earning player in the league. Kumar known for his trademark lion-like leap into the opponent's corner will be keen to make an impact.
All in all an interesting contest between U Mumba and Patna Pirates is on the cards.
Where to Watch Live:
U Mumba play the Patna Pirates at 8-00 pm. Star Sports will air the match. Live coverage will comence on Star Sports HD 2 from 7-45 pm. This is the link for the Live Streaming option Star sports.com.
