U Mumba held Haryana Steelers to a 24-24 tie in match 32 of Pro Kabaddi Season 8 at The Sheraton Grand, Whitefield, Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Captain Fazel Atrachali scored four points in defence for Mumbai in a low-scoring game where defences overpowered the raiders. However, Haryana Steelers only had themselves to blame at the end of the match for allowing Abhishek Singh to make a valid final raid of the match with scores tied and no time remaining. For the Steelers, all-rounder Rohit Gulia top-scored with eight points.
The first half was a low scoring affair despite both teams having in-form raiders in their line-up. The likes of Abhishek Singh of U Mumba and Vikash Kandola of Haryana found it difficult to get raid points against well-drilled defences. U Mumba’s Rinku set the tone for the match with an incredible thigh hold in the first move of the match. His captain, Fazel soon joined the party, charging raiders out on the right side of the mat.
At the other end, the established Surender Nada mostly had to watch his Haryana teammates do all the heavy tackling. Mohit was particularly brilliant in the cover position as the Steelers thwarted the Mumbai raiders. The first half ended 10-12 in favour of the Steelers.
The Steelers continued to be rock solid in defence after the interval with Surender Nada impressing with his leadership. U Mumba’s raiders, especially Abhishek Singh, had no answers to the well-marshalled defence as the teams traded blows. The match changed in momentum when U Mumba’s coach Rajguru Subramanian substituted Abhishek Singh for Ajinkya Kapre. The young raider immediately got a raid point to reduce Haryana to three men on the mat.
Mumbai clinched the first all-out of the match with eight minutes remaining to open a three-point lead. With five minutes on the clock, U Mumba had a narrow lead of two points but the poor performance from the raiders pushed them back.
Vikash Kandola made the scores level with a final minute touch on Fazel Atrachali but Abhishek Singh was allowed to make a valid final raid by a poorly planned Haryana defence to allow U Mumba to tie the match.
Featured photo: Pro Kabaddi
