Pro Kabaddi Semifinals: Delhi to face Bengal in season seven final, Bengaluru, Mumba crash out- As it happened

Dabang Delhi defeated Bengaluru Bulls 44-38 in the first semifinal of the night before Bengal Warriors edged past U Mumba 37-35. PKL will have a new winner.

Updated : Oct 19, 2019 16:57 IST

Sukesh Hegde's experience proved valuable to team as Bengal Warriors sealed its first-ever final berth in PKL.
Sukesh Hegde's experience proved valuable to team as Bengal Warriors sealed its first-ever final berth in PKL.
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Sukesh Hegde's experience proved valuable to team as Bengal Warriors sealed its first-ever final berth in PKL.

 

Until then, this is Shivansh Gupta bidding you a very happy good night. CIAO!

We will see you on Saturday for the final.

FINAL- DABANG DELHI AND BENGAL WARRIORS WILL FACE OFF IN THE GRAND FINALE OF THE SEASON SEVEN OF THE PRO KABADDI LEAGUE.

Bengal would have been nervous to go into the big semifinal without Maninder Singh. But the defending trio of Baldev Singh, Rinku Narwal and Jeeva Kumar held fort really well and supported Sukesh Hegde and Mohammad Nabibakhsh very ably to deny U Mumba another final spot

What a night of Kabaddi we had. Pawan couldn't do today what he did all season long- to carry his team over the line single-handedly. Naveen Kumar's 'Super-10' record keeps getting better and we have a consecutive 21st 'Super-10' on the card.

 

BENGAL COMPLETES A THREE-PEAT ON U MUMBA THIS SEASON TO QUALIFY FOR ITS FIRST EVER FINALS.

FULL-TIME!! BENGAL WARRIORS HAS DONE IT! BENGAL WARRIORS HAS DONE IT WITHOUT MANINDER SINGH, WHICH IS WHAT MAKES THIS VICTORY TRULY SPECIAL.

37-35: DESHWAL IS TACKLED BY BALDEV SINGH AND BENGAL WINS!

36-35: JEEVA KUMAR KEEPS BENGAL'S RAID AHEAD WITH A BRILLIANT TACKLE ON JEEVA KUMAR.

35-35: ONE OF THE STRONGEST BLOCK YOU'LL SEE ALL SEASON LONG! Sandeep Narwal brings U Mumba level with a colossal solo block on Nabi. Is this heading into extra-time?

35-34: Abhishek Singh bags a bonus.

35-33: 3 MINUTES TO GO AND IT'S A TWO-POINT IN THE FAVOUR OF BENGAL.

35-33: ALL-OUT! U MUMBA IS BACK IN IT WITH, THANKS TO A GREAT DOUBLE THIGH HOLD FROM SURINDER ON SOURABH! U MUMBA HAS COME BACK IN STYLE! 12 points in the last five minutes for U Mumba, as opposed to Bengal's five. The bonus was awarded to the raider.

34-30: SUPER-10 FOR ABHISHEK SINGH! HE is met by a double thigh hold form Nabi, but the raider pushes off the defender's body, jumps and runs back to safety.

34-29: ANOTHER GIFT FROM U MUMBA! Surinder Singh with an eager tackle on Sourabh Tanaji Patil.

33-29: SUPER-RAID! IT'S AN ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE ONE! AJINKYA KAPRE WITH A TELLING BLOW ON BENGAL WARRIORS! IS THIS THE TURNING POINT OF THE MATCH? THE CROWD IS ON ITS FEET. Mayur Shivtarkar, Jeeva Kumar, Sukesh Hegde, K. Prapanjan are off to the bench.

33-25: Deshwal, now, is sent packing. The raider was too invested with getting a touch point off the left corner and he did. But he had gone in too deep and gave enough time to K. Prapanjan to come with a great dash.

32-25: FIVE MINUTES LEFT ON THE CLOCK!

32-25: One point apiece? A LOT OF CONSULTATIONS HERE! Eventually, one point each.

30-24: YOUNG CHANGO AND SURINDER COMBINE TO PIN NABIBAKHSH DOWN!

30-23: TECHNICAL POINT TO U MUMBA, COURTESY DOUBLE ENTRY FROM BENGAL'S NABIBAKHSH AND HEGDE.

30-22: RIGHT COVER, JEEVA AND A U MUMBA RAIDER! This has been the form guide of U Mumba's raids tonight. Abhishek Singh with his ninth point of the night.

30-21: NARWAL IS IN GREAT FORM TODAY! THE ONLY DEFENDER WHO HAS LOOKED HIMSELF TODAY! He dashes out K. Prapanjan with brute force.

30-20: ALL-OUT NO.2 ON U MUMBA! Last man in was Abhishek Singh and just like last time around, he gets a bonus before being timed-out.

27-19: Nabi sends Surinder Singh back to the bench and U Mumba is down to the last man again.

26-19: BONUS PLUS ONE AND U MUMBA SURVIVES! Sandeep Narwal bags a bonus before getting a touch point off Rinku Narwal.

26-17: REAL TROUBLE FOR U MUMBA! DOWN TO ONE MAN! Nabi gets Mohit Baliyan, who fails with a poor thigh hold.

25-16: SUPER-RAID! THIS IS A HUGE SUPER-RAID FROM SUKESH HEGDE! TAKE A BOW! FAZEL COMES IN FROM THE LEFT TO THE RIGHT WITH A BLOCK BEFORE SURINDER, AJINKYA AND YOUNG CHANG KO TRY AND HOLD THE RAIDER BACK. However, Hegde somehow managed to find the right amount of gap in all that chaos and gets his dangling hand past the mid-line.

21-16: THIS MINI-BATTLE BETWEEN JEEVA KUMAR AND ARJUN DESHWAL IS HEATING UPA! Jeeva is slow on the retreat and Arjun obliges. Goes for a running hand touch on the right corner and gets it.

21-15: FIFTH ALL-OUT POINT AND THAT IS JUST POOR! JUST WHEN THE TEAM LOOKED LIKE GAINING MOMENTUM, ABHISHEK SINGH STEPS OUT OF BOUNDS IN THE LEFT FLANK.

20-15: Bonus for Hegde.

19-15: NOW, NABI IS OFF TO THE BENCH Arjun Deshwal was lingering in the middle of the Bengal half and Nabi tried to catch him off-guard by coming around from the back with a thigh hold, but the raider was alert and managed to escape to safety.

19-14: Do-or-die raid for Bengal. K. Prapanjan is in to raid. He was up against four AND THIS TIME, FAZEL DOESN'T FAIL. CHARGES IN FROM THE LEFT WITH A BRILLIANT HOLD.

19-13: Do-or-die raid for U Mumba AND AJINKYA KAPRE GETS THE FAINTEST OF THE TOUCH TOUCHES ON RINKU NARWAL IN THE LEFT CORNER.

19-12: K. Prapanjan is brought down by Young Chang Ko's diving ankle hold, but the raider is able to drag his body back to safety on time.

18-12: Sukesh Hegde comes in for the first raid of the second half and he goes back without troubling the scorers.

 

WE ARE BACK WITH THE LAST HALF OF THE SEMIFINALS.

 

HALF-TIME! THIS IS THE MOST BENGAL HAS SCORED IN A SINGLE HALF AGAINST U MUMBA THIS SEASON AND WHAT AN OCCASION TO DO IT! To make it more special, the team has done it without the services of Maninder Singh. U Mumba has gifted a few points and at the end of the first half, it's the all-out that has been the difference.

18-12: Fazel is mixing it up. Sends Sandeep Narwal for the final raid of the first half. He darts left and right before ending the first half with an empty raid.

18-12: JEEVA KUMAR GETS ON BACK ON ARJUN DESHWAL! HE COMES BACK AROUND FROM THE BACK AND USED ALL HIS MIGHT TO EXECUTE A BLOCK AND THEN DASH THE RAIDER OUT!

17-12: Hegde comes back with a touch point.

16-12: THIS TIME, ABHISHEK SINGH IS HELD BACK AND BENCHED! Brilliant diving ankle hold from Rinku Narwal in the left corner. He waited for Singh to look away and the moment he did, Rinku pounced at him.

14-11: Arjun Deshwal, who hasn't been used much so far, picks off Jeeva Kumar in the right corner.

14-10: ALL-OUT ON BENGAL AND THE TEAM HAS DONE IT WITHOUT MANINDER SINGH!! This is stellar work from the Warriors! Abhishek Singh is given a bonus before he is timed-out.

11-9: MUMBA DOWN TO ONE MAN AND THAT IS SO VERY WELL DONE BY NABI! Left it late, but sent Surinder Singh back with a running hand touch.

10-9: Nabibakhsh goes in and gets an easy touch point off Mohit Baliyan, who was caught double-minded between thigh hold and a block.

9-9: IT'S ABSOLUTELY NECK-TO-NECK HERE AS ABHISHEK EVADES A TACKLE TO REVIVE ONE PLAYER.

9-8: TWO POINTS FOR SUKESH HEGDE AND U MUMBA DOWN TO TWO MEN! After the defender fails to contain the raider with a back hold, Fazel charges in with a dive. But, he overdoes it and lets Sukesh bag two points.

7-8: NOT THERE, NABI! Nabibakhsh attempts a back hold on Abhishek, but too close to the mid-line and that allows the raider to fall back to safety.

7-7: ONCE AGAIN, U MUMBA DEFENDERS TACKLE THE RAIDER SUCCESSFULLY, BUT AT THE COST OF ONE OF THE DEFENDERS STEPPING OUT OF BOUNDS BEFORE GETTING A TOUCH. Young Chang Ko was the culprit here.

6-6: Bonus point picked up by Abhishek Singh.

6-5: STRUGGLE, STRUGGLE and he is finally contained! Sandeep Narwal initiates the tackle on Nabi, who tries his best to escape, but he cannot. ONE POINT TO BENGAL AS SANDEEP NARWAL STEPS OUT OF BOUNDS BEFORE GETTING A TOUCH AGAIN.

5-4: RINKU NARWAL WITH A BRILLIANT ANKLE HOLD ON ARJUN DESHWAL IN THE LEFT COVER AND THAT'S TACKLE POINT NO. 59 FOR RINKU!

4-4:  JEEVA ON THE BENCH AS ABHISHEK PICKS UP THE RIGHT COVER AGAIN! Jeeva has a 65% failed tackle rate and Mayur's stat reads 77%. So, Abhishek would look to take advantage of that and continue making merry in his strike-zone.

4-3: K. PRAPANJAN HAS ARRIVED AND WITH A BRILLIANT RUNNING HAND TOUCH ON SURINDER SINGH!

3-3: BRILLIANT BACK HOLD FROM  BALDEV ON ATHUL MS IN THE RIGHT COVER. Athul does bag a bonus though.

2-2: SELF-OUT! Just before Sukesh Hegde was pinned down by a brilliant ankle hold from Sandeep Narwal, Sandeep had stepped out of bounds. U Mumba reviewd it and it was deemed UNSUCCESSFUL. U MUMBA LOSES ITS REVIEW!

1-2: Prapanjan comes in for his first raid. PHEW, THAT WAS CLOSE! He almost got Fazel there, but defender backs off right in the nick of time.

1-2: BRILLIANT DASH FROM SURINDER SINGH ON NABIBAKHSH, who is sent back after bagging a bonus.

0-1: ABHISHEK SINGH GETS A RUNNING HAND TOUCH ON MAYUR SHIVTARKAR, WHO IS IN THE RIGHT COVER. IF YOU REMEMBER, THE RIGHT COVER IS ABHISHEK'S FAVOURITE STRIKE ZONE.

0-0: Sukesh Hegde comes in for the first raid for Bengal. He also starts empty-handed.

0-0: Arjun Deshwal comes in for the first raid of the match. He starts with an empty raid.

SEMIFINAL NUMBER 2, HERE WE GO!!!

TOSS- Bengal wins the toss and U Mumba will raid first.

BIG TEAM NEWS: MANINDER SINGH, BENGAL'S BEST RAIDER WHO INJURED HIS SHOULDER AGAINST DABANG DELHI IN THE LEAGUE STAGE, WILL NOT FEATURE IN THE SEMI-FINAL.

 

 

 

What a dream run this has been for the Delhi outfit. Made it to the semis for the first time and bettered it by beating Pawan Sehrawat and Bengaluru Bulls.

FULL-TIME! NAVEEN 'KUMAR' EXPRESS CARRIES HIS TEAM INTO THE PRO KABADDI FINAL FOR THE FIRST TIME! JOY FOR ONE IS HEARTBREAK FOR ANOTHER!

38-44: Vijay runs down the clock after making the raid legal by crossing the baulk-line AND DELHI HAS QUALIFIED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE PRO KABADDI LEAGUE!

38-44: Sumit is gifted a point by Pahal, who cannot contain the raider with his ankle hold.

37-44: PAWAN IS TACKLED! HE gets a bonus before being dashed out with brutal force by C. Ranjit.

36-43: Do-or-die raid for Delhi and the pressure in on Ranjit. CHANDRAN RANJIT DELIVERS AGAIN! MAHENDER OVER RUNS RANJIT BEFORE RANJIT GET MOHIT SEHRAWAT ON THE RUN.

36-41: HOLD ON! PAWAN SENDS NAVEEN PACKING! Brilliant point.

35-41: BONUS PLUS ONE FOR PAWAN! He gets a bonus and then a toe touch off Vijay.

33-41: Delhi raiders are now slowing the game, running down the clock. SMART!

33-41: Pawan Sehrawat puts in a quick raid and forces an error off Mane, who attempts a block very close to the mid-line. It was never going to be enough.

32-41: ALL-OUT! IS THIS THE FINAL NAIL IN THE COFFIN? IS THIS THE GAME? Mahender Singh surrenders the point to Naveen Kumar and the defending champion is less than 150 seconds away from crashing out of the tournament.

31-37: NOT THIS TIME AND NAVEEN IS BACK WITH VENGEANCE! He gets an easy touch point off Amit Sheoran.

31-36: ROHIT KUMAR IS TACKLED BY A LETHAL ANKLE HOLD FROM JOGINDER IN THE LEFT ANKLE AFTER BAGGING A BONUS AND GUESS WHAT, NAVEEN IS REVIVED!

30-35: SUPER-TACKLE FOR BULLS AND ONCE AGAIN NAVEEN IS ON THE RECEIVING END AND ONCE AGAIN, IT'S NOT THE DEFENDERS WITH THE GOODS! NAVEEN STEPS OUT OF BOUNDS WITHOUT GETTING A TOUCH. Delhi reviews the call, claiming raider is safe. Replay shows that after tryong a running hand touch on Mahender, his right toe lands on the orange zone, which is out of bounds. REVIEW IS UNSUCCESSFUL AND NAVEEN KUMAR IS BENCHED. TWO POINTS FOR  THE BULLS.

28-35: Bonus for Sumit BUT THAT WILL NOT BRING ABOUT REVIVALS! Sumit Singh needs to get touch points to revive Pawan.

27-35: ERROR! Sandeep cannot catch up with Naveen's speed and ends up putting in a weak, tentative ankle hold attempt. Naveen is unmoved, wriggles out of the block and jogs back to safety.

27-34: REVIEW! Bulls challenge the umpire's call of no bonus. Sumit feels he has gotten it and his captain supports him. Replay shows Sumit was right AND ONE POINT TO SUMIT AND THE BULLS. Rohit Kumar and co. retain the review.

26-34: Naveen Kumar is in to raid and HE FINALLY DELIVERS! HIS SECOND POINT OFF THE HALF ARRIVES COURTESY A RUNNING HAND TOUCH ON THE LEFT CORNER IN NANDAL, WHO IS SLOW TO RETREAT.

7 minutes to go and Delhi currently leads by SEVEN.

13 RAID POINTS FOR PAWAN, 11 FOR NAVEEN (HE HAS SCORED ONLY 1 THIS HALF)

 

26-33: NAVEEN IS REVIVED AND HOW! PAWAN OUT AND NAVEEN IN, as Anil Kumar dives fast and low on Pawan's ankle, who cannot overpower the defender this time.

26-32: THAT'S VERY WELL DONE! Vijay, the all-rounder, with a sudden burst of speed to get a running hand touch on the left cover defender in Rohit Kumar.

26-31: Ravinder Pahal with a failed diving ankle hold on Pawan, who dives back to safety and Delhi is down to three men.

25-31: Do-or-die raid for Delhi AND MERAJ SHEYKH IS TACKLED BY SANDEEP! Bulls seem to like the pressure of DOD raids and Super-tackles.

24-31: Do-or-die raid for Sumit and the defenders of Delhi make easy work of it. They lure Sumit deep into the half and then Vijay comes around from the back with an easy block.

24-30: Do-or-die raid for Delhi AND NAVEEN IS TACKLED FOR THE FOURTH TIME TONIGHT. TELL YOU WHAT! ALL OF BULLS' TACKLE POINTS HAVE COME AGAINST NAVEEN KUMAR. Sumit Singh, after getting a touch on Mahender, turns back and tries to evade Sumit Singh's tackle with dubki . But good cover up from the Bulls send the 'Express' back to the dock. GET IT? HAHAH!

23-30: PAWAN FALLS FOR THE TRAP! This Delhi side is not relenting. Chandran Ranjit with an ankle hold on a turning Pawan and then Anil with a brilliant assist. WOW!

23-28: TWO POINTS FOR PAWAN! First, the right corner in Pahal dives into Pawan with a double ankle hold and Pawan is able to jump out of it on time and dive back to safety. The left corner in Joginder was late to assist and he has to walk back too.

21-28: IF NOT NAVEEN, THEN CHANDRAN RANJIT! The secondary raider with a brilliant toe touch on Sandeep in the left corner.

21-27: SUPER-10! Pawan comes in and makes instant impact. Anil Kumar with an unnecessary thigh hold attempt on Pawan, who is able to jog back to safety. 10TH CONSECUTIVE SUPER-1O FOR PAWAN.

20-27: Do-or-die raid for Delhi now. SUPER-TACKLE NO. 3 FOR BULLS AND YET AGAIN, THEY FLOOR NAVEEN KUMAR. Brilliant double ankle hold from Mahender Singh. Pawan is revived.

18-27: Do-or-die raid for Bengaluru first. Banty is up against six men, he was looking for Joginder but is tackled by Vishal Mane. Naveen Kumar revived. Brilliant dash-cum-block from Mane. Good work from Anil and Joginder with the assist.

18-26: C. Ranjit for Delhi also starts with an empty raid.

18-26: Banty resumes the proceedings with the first raid of the second half. Empty raid to start with.

 

 

HALF-TIME! The defending champion started off horribly and conceded an all-out in the first five minutes of the game. Then, Pawan injected some life into his team with a Super-raid but once he was tackled, Delhi increased the lead again and inflicted another all-out. Naveen Kumar with 10 points from 12 raids has led to Delhi to a decent lead at half-time.

18-26: End of the first half! Ankit puts in an empty raid to draw curtains on an enthralling half.

18-26: SUPER-TACKLE! No, Bulls did not tackle him, but Naveen Kumar got timed out. Rare, rare error from Naveen.

15-25: SUPER-TACKLE ON NAVEEN KUMAR! SAURABH NANDAL WITH A BRILLIANT DOUBLE ANKLE HOLD AND THAT'S THE FIRST TACKLE POINT OF THE NIGHT FOR THE BULLS.

13-25: Sumit Singh misses out by a whisker! He turns after being stopped in his tracks by Anil Kumar, but Mane and Chandran Ranjit assist with timely block to contain the raider.

13-24: PAWAN GETS A BONUS BUT HE IS TACKLED BY JOGINDER NARWAL WITH A SOLID ANKLE HOLD IN THE LEFT CORNER.

12-23:  SUPER-10! NAVEEN KUMAR BRINGS UP HIS 20TH CONSECUTIVE SUPER-10 and 21st of the season. Ankit and Mahender Singh cannot hold back Naveen, who escapes back to safety with a dubki.

6 MINUTES TO GO AND NOT A SINGLE TACKLE POINT FOR BENGALURU.

12-21: Pawan bags two more bonuses.

10-21: ALL-OUT NO.2 AND IT KEEPS GETTING WORSE FOR BENGALURU! The last man in was Sumit, who was allowed to pick up a bonus and then he was pinned down by Chandran Ranjit.

9-18: NAVEEN WITH A TWO-POINT RAID AND BULL DOWN TO ONE MAN! A failed double ankle hold from the right corner and a poor assist means Naveen can dive back to safety. Amit Sheoran and Ankit are benched.

9-16: 'The Hawk' Ravinder Pahal in the righr corner slows down a jumping Rohit Kumar before the others clean up the tackle.

9-15: NAVEEN vs MAHENDER and the 'Express' runs away with a running hand touch on Mahender Singh in the right corner.

9-14: Rohit Kumar, who hasn't looked anywhere close to his best, goes back to safety after bagging a bonus.

8-14: Vijay begins his night with a touch point on Saurabh Nandal.

8-13: PAWAN TACKLED! Anil Kumar in the left corner dives in a with a double thigh hold. Stunning tackle!

8-12: Naveen Kumar picks up fifth point of the night with a bonus point in the left corner of the Bulls' defence.

8-11: Pawan Sehrawat reduced Delhi to four men on the mat by getting a running hand touch off Ravinder Pahal in the right corner.

7-11: SUPER-RAID FOR PAWAN! IS THIS THE MOMENT THE BULL IN PAWAN SETS FREE? Pawa picked up a bonus in the left corner and then enticed the defenders to try and tackle him, but they fail. Vishal off to the bench.

4-11: RIGHT COVER COMMITS THE ERROR AGAIN! The right corner, in Ankit, puts in a futile tackle on Naveen Kumar.

4-10: JOGINDER OFF TO THE BENCH! Pawan throws in a kick on the skipper of Delhi in the left corner and he has to walk outl.

3-10: Chandran Ranjit nicks a bonus in the right corner of the Bulls' defence.

3-9: ALL-OUT! THE FIRST ALL-OUT HAS COME IN SO EARLY! DELHI DRAWS FIRST BLOOD WITHIN THE FIRST FIVE MINUTES OF THE MATCH! Rohit Kumar picks up a bonus before being thwarted off the mat.

2-6: BULLS DOWN TO ONE MAN! Naveen Kumar picks up the left corner defender.

2-5: Rohit Kumar is happy to go back with a bonus point.

1-3: Naveen 'Express' Kumar comes in for his first raid of the match and he sends the right corner with a running hand touch.

1-2: Pawan 'Hi-Flyer' Sehrawat starts with a bonus point.

0-2: Chandran Ranjit comes in for the first raid of the mat

ch. The left raider starts with a two-point raid. What a start! The right side of the defence commits the error with an eager tackle on the raider. Saurabh Nandal and Mahender Singh have to go back to the bench.

HERE WE GO SEMIFINALS!

 

TOSS: Bengaluru won the toss and Delhi will raid first.

Famous bollywood singer Kanika Kapoor starts the proceedings by singing the national anthem.

 

THE SQUADS FOR THE FIRST SEMIFINAL ARE OUT:

 

HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN LOOK FORWARD TO IN SEMIFINAL 1 BETWEEN BENGALURU BULLS AND DABANG DELHI!

Dabang Delhi finished at the top of the table after the league stage and qualified directly for the semifinals.

Bengaluru Bulls negotiated U.P. Yoddha in a nail-biting Eliminator to qualify for the semifinals.

HEAD TO HEAD THIS SEASON : The first meeting between the two sides this season finished in a narrow 33-31 victory for Delhi, while the second ended in a thrilling 39-39 tie, where Amit Sheoran’s tackle on Naveen Kumar in the buzzer raid salvaged three points for the Bulls.

For most parts of this season, Pawan Sehrawat has looked the best Kabaddi player in the country, and he has carried that form into the crucial, knockout stages of the competition. His 20-point performance was vital in Bulls’ comeback victory against UP Yoddha in the Eliminators and the defending champions will once again be reliant on the High-Flyer for the raid points against Delhi, especially with Rohit Kumar still looking troubled by his back injury. Pawan has 328 points from 23 matches this season, including 17 Super 10s, but the raider will be facing a familiar foe in Delhi’s left corner Ravinder Pahal. Interestingly, the ‘Hawk’ has a better head-to-head history against Pawan in duels (8-7), and will take belief from Nitesh Kumar’s performances for UP against the raider from the same position.

At the other end, Naveen Kumar will be keen to launch the wrecking ball onto a leaky Bulls’ defence. Barring Mahender Singh, no defender looked convincing in their game against UP, and in Naveen they will be facing a raider of another class. The 19-year-old, a produce of the Future Kabaddi Heroes (FKH) programme, has 19 consecutive Super 10s this season (268 points from 21 matches), and will be a force to reckon with. With both the raiding departments looking strong, the match will most likely be won by the defence.

QUICK RECAP:

 

 

RAID BATTLE:

 

WHICH WALL IS STRONGER?

 

 

Bengal Warriors finished second of the table after the league stage and qualified directly for the semifinals.

U Mumba negotiated Haryana Steelers in a nail-biting Eliminator to qualify for the semifinals.

HEAD TO HEAD THIS SEASON : The first meeting between the two sides this season finished in a narrow 32-30 victory for Mumba and Bengal beat Mumba again when they met for the second time this season 29-26.

 

Bengal Warriors, arguably, has been the most complete side in Season 7, with its defence and attack firing hand in hand. But it will be facing a U Mumba, often called a defence-reliant team, has discovered a new dimension through two young raiders – Abhishek Singh and Arjun Deshwal. The duo scored 32 points for the Mumbai side in its Eliminator round, and with U Mumba also peaking at the right time, the second semi-final will be a tactical warfare. Baldev Singh (averaging 2.59 tackles per match) and Rinku Narwal have been in good form for the Warriors and they will be keen to make life difficult for Mumbai’s young raiders. Maninder Singh’s injury concerns will be a concern for the Bengal team though, especially with Mumbai corners of Fazel Atrachali (top scoring defender in season seven with 81 points so far) and Sandeep Narwal in red-hot form. But in K Prapanjan and Mohammad Nabibakhsh, the Warriors has a great raiding unit to support Maninder.

 

QUICK RECAP:

 

 

RAID BATTLE:

 

 

WHICH WALL IS STRONGER?

 

 

You can watch the live streaming of both the semifinals on Hotstar.

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