U Mumba rise to fourth in the standings after win over Gujarat Fortunegiants

U Mumba moved to fourth in the vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 7 standings after a 31-25 win over Gujarat Fortunegiants at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Sunday. Abhishek Singh picked up a Super 10 and Surinder Singh was U Mumba’s most efficient defender with four tackle points.

Gujarat Fortunegiants picked up the first couple of points of the match and enjoyed the better of opening exchanges. They had a narrow 5-3 lead after the first five minutes, but U Mumba grew into the game and tied to contest at 5-5 before Gujarat Fortunegiants could build on their lead. U Mumba then got their noses in front going into the last 10 minutes of the half and took control of the contest momentarily by inflicting an All-Out to take a 11-6 lead.

However, unfazed and with their confidence still intact, Gujarat Fortunegiants came roaring back into the match and tied things up at 12-12. They went on to enforce an All-Out soon after thanks to a two-point raid by Rohit Gulia that made it 16-14 in favour of his side. The final few minutes of the first period though saw U Mumba score two unanswered points to stick with the ebb-and-flow nature of the encounter and make it 16-16 at halftime.

The opening 10 minutes of the second period were similar to the first half with neither team managing to create a big lead at any point as the score remained tied at 20-20 heading into the final quarter of the match. A two-point raid by Abhishek with six minutes left to play, however, gave U Mumba some momentum.

A successful tackle by Surinder in the subsequent raid then extended U Mumba’s advantage to three points, while also reducing Gujarat Fortunegiants to three men on court. Back-to-back successful raids by Abhishek shortly after reduced Gujarat Fortunegiants to a sole man and eventually helped U Mumba enforce another All-Out to take a 29-23 lead with a little less than two and a half minutes left on the clock.

Gujarat Fortunegiants continued to fight till the end and looked to keep the margin of defeat minimal, while U Mumba aimed at running down the clock. U Mumba eventually registered a six-point win, meaning Gujarat Fortunegiants got a point, while Tamil Thalaivas became the first team to get knocked out of playoff contention this season.

Top Performers:

U Mumba –

Best Raider – Abhishek Singh (11 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Surinder Singh (4 Tackle Points)

Gujarat Fortunegiants –

Best Raider – Rohit Gulia (8 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Ruturaj Koravi (2 Tackle Points)