JOIN USU Mumba produced an inspired performance in the second-half to outclass the high-flying Jaipur Pink Panthers in their Pro Kabaddi League season four tie at at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Thursday.
Mumbai’s rock solid defence was too good to handle for the Pink Panthers as the Anup Kumar-captained side scripted a convincing 29-23 win to have 27 points from eight games.
Jaipur’s fine run, which saw them score three straight wins, came to a halt with the defeat but Jasvir Singh’s men’s late fightback helped them reduce the victory margin to less than seven points and take home one point. With 31 points from nine games, Jaipur held on to their pole position.
Mumbai leading 13-12 in the second half, Suresu Kumar produced a fine raid that eventually proved to be the turning point of the game. Suresu bagged two points with a sharp raid, that included the scalp of the dangerous Shabeer Bapu.
Jaipur’s Amit Nagar got out in the do-or-die raid and Mumbai went further ahead when skipper Anup Kumar scored a point in his raid.
Rakesh Kumar, with seven points was the stand-out raider for Mumbai while Anup contributed five points. Suresu (6), aided well by Jeeva Kumar (3) and Surjeet (3) were the backbone of Mumbai’s defence.
Jaipur were hurt by the dismal performance of ace raider Shabeer, who failed to score a point. Shabeer just didn’t had no answers against a dominant Mumbai defence.
Earlier, in a closely fought first-half, where both the teams gave very little chance to each other, Jaipur managed to go into the break with a slender 10-9 lead. Jaipur stayed ahead at half-time thanks to some sharp raids from Ajay Kumar supported well by an all-round effort from the seasoned Rajesh Narwal. Ajay bagged two points for Jaipur in the do-or-die raids and kept his team on par with Mumbai while Rajesh was a strong force in both attack and defense for Jaipur. Mumbai though didn’t allow Jaipur to run-away with a huge lead and found their scoreboard ticking thanks to the experience of vice-captain Rakesh Kumar, who was instrumental in providing three points to his side.
Friday’s fixture: Telugu Titans vs Puneri Paltan (8:00 pm); Bengaluru Bulls vs Dabang Delhi KC (9:00 PM).