U Mumba & Haryana Steelers play out high-octane tie in PKL Season 10
U Mumba and Haryana Steelers played out a highly entertaining high octane 44-44 tie in the final game of PKL Season 10’s leg at the DOME by NSCI on Wednesday. While Jaideep Dahiya’s brilliant defending earned him 8 tackle points, the real star of the game was Amirmohammad Zafardanesh, who almost single-handedly got his side a deserved tie with 14 raid points. The Haryana Steelers kicked off at a blistering pace and had, within minutes, reduced the U Mumba numbers on the mat. It wasn’t just via raiding though, as Jaideep Dahiya in defence was imperious, logging an impressive 4 raid points in the first half itself — over half of the Haryana Steelers’ total for the period. They inflicted the first ALL OUT of the game in the seventh minute to take a 11-6 lead and things looked bleak for the home side. In the next quarter of the game though U Mumba’s team rallied together, Amirmohammad Zafardanesh’s ability to constantly pick up bonus points, and Siddharth Desai’s SUPER RAID at the end of the half drawing them to within three to end the half. Despite having only three players on the mat at the beginning of the second half, the Haryana Steelers, courtesy of a SUPER TACKLE and some brilliant raiding, streaked into a 9 point lead within two minutes. The see-saw nature of the encounter ensured that they wouldn’t have the last say, as U Mumba slowly edged their way back. It took them nine minutes of the half, but eventually they inflicted an ALL OUT to erase that nine point deficit to draw level at 30 apiece. The momentum swung the other way almost immediately as the Haryana Steelers defence held together and created a second ALL OUT to take a five point lead. U Mumba inflicted a second ALL OUT to draw level at 44 apiece, with 40 seconds left. Neither team could break the deadlock in the dying seconds as they took a deserved point apiece. The Sportz Planet Desk
‘It’s a rare occasion for sports tournaments to sustain for 10 seasons,’ says Bollywood Star Tiger Shroff on Pro Kabaddi League
Bollywood Star Tiger Shroff graced his presence at the Pro Kabaddi League Season 10 in Mumbai on Monday. He cheered on the U Mumba side, which took on Dabang Delhi K.C. at DOME by NSCI. Speaking about his favourite PKL player, Tiger Shroff said, “My favourite player is Pawan Sehrawat. I can relate to him because he’s a high flyer. And my favourite move is the Dubki. I really like how the raiders evade a chain of defenders through explosive power.” Shroff, who trained in kabaddi for his film Student of the Year 2 in 2019, spoke about his experience of practicing the sport, “One of the main sports was kabaddi in Student of the Year 2. I trained a lot in kabaddi for the movie to get the body language correct. It was quite challenging for me. I learnt how to carry out raids and tackles. I also tried different moves such as Dubki.” The Bollywood star further added, “Kabaddi is a really physical sport. It requires a lot of athleticism, strength and agility. I am really impressed by how the athletes perform in the Pro Kabaddi League.” When asked about his thoughts on the Pro Kabaddi League, Shroff said, “This is the tenth season of the Pro Kabaddi League and it is a rare occasion for sports tournaments to sustain for so many seasons. I am very happy to be associated with the Pro Kabaddi League and it’s really heartening to see the youth take interest in kabaddi.” The Sportz Planet Desk
U Mumba begin home leg in style, beat Bengaluru Bulls 40-35
U Mumba got their home leg off to a rollicking start as they earned a commanding 40-35 win over Bengaluru Bulls in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 10 match at the DOME by NSCI in Mumbai. U Mumba’s Bittu, making his PKL debut, impressed with 6 tackle points. Buoyed by a boisterous home crowd, U Mumba went all guns blazing from the first raid and inflicted an ALL OUT as early as the 7th minute. Guman Singh and Amirmohammad Zafardanesh picked points at will and the U Mumba defence was rock-solid as Bittu’s tackle on Aman put U Mumba ahead 11-3. Bengaluru Bulls were forced to play catch up thereon. Their first tackle point came only in the 11th minute and that summed up their defensive show as they struggled to contain U Mumba’s three-pronged raiding unit. Bulls’ ace raider Bharat was unable to find a rhythm and Vikash Kandola offered some hope but failed to capitalize on numerous chances to inflict the ALL OUT on U Mumba. The home team played with 3 men for nearly 5 minutes and held on to go into the break with a 19-10 lead. U Mumba extended their lead early into the second half as Zafardanesh’s multi-point raid reduced the Bulls to 2 men. Sushil came off the bench to the Bulls’ rescue and scored 6 quickfire points and Aman claimed a SUPER TACKLE, but it still wasn’t enough to stop U Mumba from grabbing a second ALL OUT. With 12 minutes left, the hosts sat pretty at 28-18. U Mumba brought on a couple of players from the bench for the remainder of the match as they dominated the proceedings. Bittu, who replaced Rinku in the U Mumba line-up, trapped Bharat in a fine tackle to claim a High 5. Bulls’ veteran defender Surjeet Singh produced a moment of magic towards the end of the game as he outwitted 3 defenders to execute the first SUPER RAID of the match. Incidentally, this was also the first SUPER RAID of Surjeet’s PKL career. Sachin Narwal followed it up with another sublime SUPER RAID and U Mumba had just 2 men left on the mat. The Bulls went on to bag an ALL OUT in the final raid of the match, but it wasn’t enough to erase their deficit as U Mumba clinched their 5th win on the trot. The Sportz Planet Desk
Return of U Mumba reignites Kabaddi fervour in the City of Dreams
U Mumba will be looking to carry their momentum in the ongoing 10th Season of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) as they return to Mumbai after a four-year-long hiatus. U Mumba will play four high-octane matches at the DOME, NSCI, during the Mumbai-leg which will feature a total of 11 matches. U Mumba has been on a roll this season, winning five of their seven matches played so far, including four back-to-back wins and are making positive strides towards a return to the playoffs. Rinku, debutant Sombir and team vice-captain Mahender Singh have been setting the mat on fire with their performances as top defenders, while Iranian recruit, 19-year-old Amirmohammad Zafardanesh has also emerged as a find of the tournament, and the best raider for the team with 64 raid points so far. Thrilling performances from captain Surinder Singh, prolific raider Guman Singh and key all-rounder Vishwanth also continues to dazzle the U Mumba ranks. “Our primary goal has been to secure a spot in the playoffs and showcase consistency and determination throughout and I’m delighted with the performances the boys have been putting up. Winning five out of the seven matches & four successive matches for the first time since Season 6 signifies the hard work done pre-season, the team camaraderie and the belief that this young UMumba team have for each other. Our spirit and excitement are very high to play in Mumbai after four long years and delight the home crowd. We hope our home matches will further catapult the confidence of the team as we go forward,”commented U Mumba CEO Suhail Chandhok during a press conference, attended by coach Gholamreza Mazandarani, Surinder, Mahender and Girish, on Thursday. After becoming the first & only team in the Pro Kabaddi League to have registered 100 wins in PKL history, U Mumba will be seeking to continue their formidable run in the 10th Season when they take on Bengaluru Bulls on Friday. “Playing before the fans at home will boost the side to deliver their A game. To me every game whether home or away is equally important but we hope to make use of the home advantage with our fans cheering us on during the Mumbai leg. If you analyse the seven matches we have played, the one we could not win went down to the wire and the last few games has seen tremendous improvement in terms of strategy under pressure,” coach Mazandarani said. Zafardanesh leads U Mumba’s stats as the top raider with 64 points in seven matches and has been the find of the season for the team. With an average of 8.86 raid points per match, the Iranian recruit also impresses with 76% not outs. Meanwhile, the experienced Guman Singh, with two Super Raids, has accumulated 54 points at the average of 7.71 raid points per match. Known for its prowess, U Mumba commands three premier sports franchises at the PKL and Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) while the upGrad Mumba Masters also reached the final of the inaugural Global Chess League. The Sportz Planet Desk
