U Mumba secure playoffs berth after win against Patna Pirates

U Mumba booked their spot in the vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 7 playoffs after a 30-26 win over Patna Pirates at the Tau Devilal Sports Complex in Panchkula on Wednesday. Skipper ‘Sultan’ Fazel Atrachali led by example with four tackle points, while Abhishek Singh scored seven raid points for them.

U Mumba began with great intensity and dominated Patna Pirates early on courtesy of some robust defending and incisive raids from Athul MS. They went on to enforce an All-Out in the ninth minute to take control of the match with a 11-3 lead.

Patna Pirates then raised their game after the reset with Pardeep Narwal and Jang Kun Lee picking up raid points for the three-time champions. U Mumba kept their scoreboard ticking as well thanks to some solid tackling and smart raiding by Abhishek. Patna Pirates though had done enough to fight their way back into the contest and ensured they went into the break with more men on the mat, while also reducing U Mumba’s lead to four.

U Mumba started the second period with a Super Tackle by Atrachali on Pardeep as they looked to regain some of their lost momentum. They were close to enforcing another All-Out on Patna Pirates as the game approached the half-hour mark, but a Super Tackle by Hadi Oshtorak on Abhishek thwarted U Mumba.

Patna Pirates proceeded to reduce the deficit and made it a two-point game to set up an exciting finish with six minutes left after Lee had drawn three U Mumba players out of bounds without touching them. U Mumba though kept their heads up and responded with a couple of raid points from Rohit Baliyan to make it 28-24 with less than four minutes to play. They went on to close out the final few minutes in an intelligent and composed manner following a tackle on Pardeep that all but sealed their playoffs spot.

Top Performers:

U Mumba –

Best Raider – Abhishek Singh (7 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Fazel Atrachali (4 Tackle Points)

Patna Pirates –

Best Raider – Pardeep Narwal (8 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Hadi Oshtorak (4 Tackle Points)