Welcome to Sportstar's coverage of the Pro Kabaddi League. This is Shyam Vasudevan and I will be taking you through today's PKL 8 match between U Mumba and Telugu Titans.
Alright then, that brings us to the end of our Pro Kabaddi League coverage for the day. We will be back tomorrow. See you then!
Meanwhile, you can also check out our Kings of Kabaddi series from PKL 7 - a happier time pre-COVID when we got to physically sit down with some of the biggest names in the league and hear their stories. You can check out all episodes here:
--
U Mumba has climbed to the third spot on the table with a comfortable win over Telugu Titans. U Mumba remained ahead from the get-go and offered Telugu Titans little to no room for a comeback. The Titans, without Siddharth Desai and Rohit Kumar, struggled for points and were outplayed by U Mumba.
We now go into our final game of the evening as Gujarat Giants takes on three-time champion Patna Pirates. Join us on the live blog here -
FULL-TIME!
U Mumba defeats Telugu Titans 48-38 for its first win in three games.
38-48 Abhishek grabs a point off the last raid of the game!
38-47 Harendra is a tad too optimistic but can't make the right tackle on Galla Raju.
37-46 Galla Raju does really well but can't get across the mid-line in time....
35-45 SUPER 10! Abhishek's running hand touch has Surinder step out of the back-line and that's his Super 10! Abhishek is the only raider to score 10 points today.
33-43 Looks like we have a new Dubki King in the house! Abhishek ducks under Ruturaj's tackle and gives his side a 10-point cushion.
33-42 Rinku bags his seventh point of the game as he traps Raju with a fine double ankle hold.
33-41 ALL OUT FOR TELUGU TITANS! Ankit Beniwal does stunningly well to get past the two remaining U Mumba men and has reduced his side's deficit to eight points!
29-41 The Telugu Titans defence has looked so much better in the second half. Galla Raju, the substitute raider, throws in a fine tackle to deny Mohsen.
Ajith has been escorted out of the playing arena. He's sustained an injury to his back and limps away to get medical attention.
27-41 That's great mat awareness from Ankit! He tries a kick on Fazel but notices Rinku coming at him from the left. He rides the momentum and gets his hand across the line in the nick of time.
That's got to hurt! Ajith lands heavily on Ruturaj's knee and appears to have severely hurt himself. He's limped off the mat and that's not a good sight for the U Mumba faithful.
Rinku seems to have injured his shoulder here....
26-41 That's just brute force from Rinku! He makes a dash from the right to the left and carries Ankit into the lobbies.
26-40 Ajinkya Kapre got the better of Surinder in his first raid but can't get past Shihas in his second raid.
23-39 Rinku is at it again - he targets Adarsh and gets his man with a superb ankle hold.
21-38 Ankit has had a rather poor game..he picks up a bonus point but is taken out by Rinku right after. Ankit has managed only two points so dar.
20-37 ALL OUT FOR U MUMBA x3! Telugu Titans have been third All Out-ed for the third time in the game and U Mumba has an unassailable 17-point lead.
19-34 Ajith has reduced the Telugu Titans to one man as Surinder pretty much surrenders himself.
19-33 Prince has go the Sultan! (hehe!) The Telugu Titans raider grabs a touch on Fazel with a backward kick.
Shihas is a very interesting prospect, he's following the Iranian way of defending by making himself as small as posisble.
18-32 Ruturaj makes the error this time as he looks for a one-on-one dash on Abhishek but the U Mumba raider has the momentum on his side and coolly gets past.
18-31 SUPER TACKLE x2! Shihas, the substitute, does really well as he pins Ajith to the mat and Ruturaj arrives with the assist. Titans will have a third member on court now.
16-31 Ankit Beniwal comes off the bench but he's no match for Fazel, who picks up his third point of the game.
The Telugu Titans are at sixes and sevens here!
15-30 SUPER TACKLE! Ruturaj does exactly what's needed as he traps Abhishek in a superb double thigh hold.
13-29 Telugu Titans are down to three men now as Abhishek strikes right away.
HT: The scoreline tells you everything you need to know about this game. Titans have been hapless today and seem to be lacking leadership. Is this the essence Rohit brings to this side? It's hard to be certain but this team will need to band together and just think its strategy before stepping in to raid/defend. Fazel is happy with the defence's performance tonight as he should be. However, if there's anything this league has taught it, it is that it's never late for a comeback. Now let's see if U Mumba can finish the job.
13-28
Abhishek Singh believes he's gotten two touch points as he employs the running hand touch. Titans think it's just one point an review. The replays support Abhishek's two points, exhausting Titans' reviews for the night. And with that it's half time.
13-26
Ashish Sangwan is sent off by the Titans.
12-26 Ajith takes out Surender Singh who is just standing there stiff as he gets a touch. This brings back Fazel
12-25
Rakesh takes a safe bonus and heads back
11-25
Ajith Kumar is making short work of the team before him and has revived Mohsen
11-24
Fazel gets a little too excited and tries to run towards Rakesh who gets a touch on the Sultan on his way to the midline.
10-24 Ankit Beniwal is having a horrid day. He rams himself straight into the defence. Fazel is enjoying these tackles.
10-23
Bonus point for Titans
10-22 Rakesh Gowda is mad and he utilises errors from Rinku in the right corner. Mohsen and Rinku get involved in a hasty tackle that's too far front and pay the price.
8-22
Titans get the bonus point thanks to Rakesh Gowda but U Mumba has effected yet another
ALL OUT. Too easy. This is getting hard to watch.
7-19
Ajith going in pursuit directly targets the right corner and takes out yet another man on the mat for the Titans. Titans down to one man.
7-18 And SHINE HE DOES.
Ajith takes two points. Ruturaj Koravi comes dashing at him and he's taken out while another defender, I can't see who, steps off the mat. Not great signs here.
7-16
Too much pace. Abhishek's pace is uncontrollable. He and a defender step into the lobby. No fear because this is where Ajith shines
6-15
Ohh that was close. Fazel and Co pull back the Titans raider just in time to manage yet another point
6-14
Ajith. Rinku. Fazel. This team hunts in packs. The prey: Ankit Beniwal who is toppled in the left side.
6-13
Fazel gets a hold on Rakesh Gowda's ankle and turns him around to the side while the rest of the team thumps him down. This is like a defence tutorial.
6-12
This is good from the Telugu Titans defence. Ajith comes in an Prince goes for his legs. Ajith tries to go over him and skip over the midline but the Titans defence pull him back. Nicely done, Titans!
5-12
Bonus to Titans but the
ALL OUT is triggered . Too easy this has been for U Mumba. 11 minutes left on the clock, a seven point lead for U Mumba.
4-9
Abhishek gets a touch on Surinder. Nearing the all out here
4-8
Rakesh gets a bonus for Titans
3-8
Look at that! Fazel was speaking to Ajith and he pulls him back as Abhishek Singh runs in pursuit. He goes in under Ruturaj Koravi, gets some resistance from Rakesh Gowda and takes both out.
TWO POINTS.
3-6
Bonus for Telugu Titans here
2-6
Adarsh T gifts Abhishek Singh a point. Isn't Sandeep Kandola on the left? Why is Adarsh even here today I wonder. Point gifted there.
2-5 Rinku brings down Ankit Beniwal with enough support from the left defence,
2-4
Couple of points won there as we keep up with. A couple of bonus points going to U Mumba.
2-2
Fazel Atrachali opens his account. Gets a strong ankle hold on Rajnish and does the job without a fuss.
2-1
Mohsen gets a bonus point for U Mumba
2-0
Rakesh Gowda gets a bonus point for the Titans
1-0 Rajnish wants to be involved and he dashes to bring Abhishek Singh down. You don't show your opponents your back, Abhishek!
0-0
Rajnish had a brilliant game against Delhi and was unlucky to not find a 'win' against his team's name. He'll start with an empty raid.
8:40pm:
Fazel Atrachali and Mohsen Maghsoudlou were spotted watching a few fixtures on days they were not in action. They have been spending time analysing their opponents. Let's see how that factors into this game.
8:35pm: LINEUPS:
U Mumba: Abhishek Singh, Ashish Sangwan, Harender Kumar, Mohsen Magsoudlou, Ajith Kumar, Rinku, Fazel Atrachali
Telugu Titans: Rajnish, Surinder Singh, Prince D, Rakesh Gowda, Ankit Beniwal, Ruturaj Koravi, Adarsh T
8:30pm: Given some of their performances in this season, it is heartbreaking for players and fans alike that Telugu Titans do not have a win yet this season. The Titans have done a few things very right but gotten some other basics very wrong in their campaign so far and will be tested by a very assured U Mumba lineup.
A nail-biting game is currently on between Dabang Delhi and UP Yoddha. Follow it LIVE here:
If you need assistance with the rules or scoring system in the Pro Kabaddi League, here's some help.
Before we get into details of the first game of triple-header Saturday, let's take a quick look at the updates from the PKL this past week:
Comments
SHARE