PKL 2023-24: U Mumba stun Bengal Warriors in closely-fought contest; Bengaluru Bulls edge Telugu Titans

U Mumba secured their third victory on the trot as they defeated the Bengal Warriors 39-37 in Match 38 of the Pro Kabaddi League season 10 at the SDAT Multi-purpose Indoor Stadium in Chennai on Saturday. Leading the charge was Iranian Amirmohammad Zafardanesh with 8 points for U Mumba on the night. Early on, Sombir stopped Maninder in his tracks to get his team off the mark before Guman Singh and Amirmohammad Zafardanesh opened the account for U Mumba. Guman was especially impressive, sending Darpan and Vaibhav Garje off the mat with his raids. In a Do-or-die raid for the Kolkata-based team, Maninder showed his prowess to earn a bonus point and the star raider also got the opponent skipper Surinder Singh off the mat to equal the score in what was turning into a closely-fought contest. [caption id=“attachment_13542262” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] U Mumba registered a stunning win over Bengal Warriors on Sunday. Image: WordsWork media[/caption] Shrikant Jadhav entered the points tally after the time-out to get Rinku eliminated, but the U Mumba players never gave up on getting the crucial points. With every point won by the Bengal Warriors, the likes of Zafardanesh and Visvanth kept their team in the game. Then, the U Mumba defenders, led by Mahender Singh and his skipper Surinder, pulled off three consecutive SUPER TACKLES to take the lead over the Warriors as the scores read 18-15 heading into halftime. The Warriors clawed their way back into the game early, getting the U Mumba team ALL OUT with some impressive raids and defensive tactics. U Mumba did well to get themselves back on level terms while Maninder Singh also created his own piece of history. With a raid to eliminate Surinder, mighty Maninder earned his 1300th raid point in the Pro Kabaddi League, just the second to do so after the legendary Pardeep Narwal, who has 1611 raid points in the prestigious competition to date. But one player who shone out was Harsh Lad, making his first start for the Warriors. He displayed his prowess ending multiple raids of the U Mumba. He got six points in eight attempts from the left corner, keeping his team ahead of their opponents to the very end. As the match went on, U Mumba used the SUPER TACKLE to their advantage to drag themselves back into the game heading in the final five minutes of the match. They brought on Amirmohammad Zafardanesh at the most important moment of the clash, and immediately, the all-rounder lifted the team over the Warriors. Despite having the lead for most of the second half, once again it was U Mumba who almost the victory with an ALL OUT over the Warriors in the final minutes of the match, although, Maninder and Nitin Kumar took the game very close but were unable to get their team over the line. Bengaluru Bulls’ All-Round Performance Outshines Pawan Sehrawat’s Super 10 The Bengaluru Bulls staved off a scare from Pawan Sehrawat and recorded a thrilling 33-31 victory over Telugu Titans in Chennai on Sunday. The Bengaluru Bulls held the lead for most of the match, but Sehrawat ensured that the Titans stayed in the hunt throughout the game. Defender Surjeet Singh was the star of the match for the Bulls with 7 tackle points. Meanwhile, Pawan Sehrawat scored 13 points and registered his sixth Super 10 of the season. The two sides played out a neck-to-neck battle in the opening passage of play and were locked at 2-2 in the 5th minute. However, the Bulls inched ahead at 4-2 through a raid point by Bharat and a tackle point by Surjeet Singh. But the Hi-flyer Sehrawat pulled off a double-point raid to level the scores at 5-5 in the 10th minute. The Bulls and the Titans continued to trade points thereafter and were locked at 7-7 in the 14th minute. However, Vikash Kandola took out Mohit and Parvesh Bhainswal on a single raid and reduced the Titans to just two members on the mat. Moments later, the Bulls caught Pawan Sehrawat to inflict an ALL OUT and take a decent lead at 13-9 in the 16th minute. Sehrawat effected a double-point raid in the 18th minute, but the Bulls still held the advantage at 16-12 at the end of the first half. The Titans tackled Kandola in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Bulls tackled Sehrawat soon after and held the lead at 19-14 in the 25th minute. The Bulls continued to put pressure on their opponents and reduced them to just two members on the mat in the 27th minute. Moments later, Surjeet Singh tackled Ajit Pawar and helped his side inflict an ALL OUT and take a massive lead at 27-17. Pawan Sehrawat and Robin Chaudhary effected raids, but the Bulls still held the lead at 28-22 in the 37th minute. Saurabh Nandal pulled off a SUPER TACKLE to help the Bulls extend their lead further. But, Sehrawat took out Surjeet Singh, Saurabh Nandal and Monu on a single raid as the Titans inflicted an ALL OUT to stay in the game at 28-31 in the 39th minute. However, the Bulls played their cards perfectly in the final minute of the match and wrapped up a thrilling win.