U Mumba eke out a win, Iranian Shadloui stars for Haryana Steelers

In what turned out to be see-saw battle in the first game of the Noida leg of Pro Kabaddi League, U Mumba snatched a close win against home side UP Yoddhas by a margin of 35-33 at the Noida Indoor Stadium on Sunday.

Ajit Chouhan and Rohit Raghav (8 points each) were the top-scoring raiders for U Mumba, as they ensured that Bharat Hooda's Super 10 went in vain.

The home team took a commanding lead early in the first half as the raiders and defenders worked in tandem. This culminated in an impressive ALL OUT inflicted on U Mumba in just the 14th minute, as the UP Yoddhas took a decisive lead. Shivam Choudhary and Hooda were the main aggressors and were ably supported by stand-in skipper and left-corner defender Sumit.

After their slow start in the first 10 minutes, U Mumba came back strongly to close out the first half. They got the UP Yoddhas ALL-OUT in the 7th minute, which reduced the deficit to just one point with five minutes left in the first half. This difference was maintained until the very end of the first half, after U Mumba got Bharat Hooda out for a Super Tackle. At the end of the first 20 minutes, the score read 17-16.

U Mumba (in black) against UP Yoddhas 

The script of the match changed in the second half, as U Mumba's raiders complemented the defensive unit led by their skipper Sunil Kumar. However, after their initial blip, UP Yoddhas' raiders dragged their team back into the match. The U Mumba skipper was the last man standing and was tackled by Sumit as his side was ALL-OUT for a second time in the match.

With the match in the balance, UP Yoddhas took charge of proceedings as Hooda continued his raiding forays. Just when it seemed like U Mumba were on the backfoot, Ajit Chouhan and Rohit Raghav turned the tide for their team. In the dying moments, UP Yoddhas were inflicted with an ALL-OUT, which gave U Mumba the lead. This proved enough to seal the victory for the PKL season 2 champions.

Shadloui stars for Haryana Steelers to send Gujarat Giants packing

Iranian Kabaddi player Mohammadreza Shadloui was the star of the second match at Noida Indoor Stadium as Haryana Steelers made short work of Gujarat Giants on Sunday night.

Shivam Patare and Vinay dominated on the attacking end, while Rahul registered a High 5 as the Haryana Steelers climbed up to third position with this win.

Gujarat Giants got the first two points of the game, courtesy a tackle from Sombir and a successful raid from Rakesh. As things would unfold, that’s the only lead they would have throughout the game. Haryana Steelers quickly got themselves into the game.

Haryana Steelers pin a Gujarat Giants player

The Gujarat Giants responded strongly to break that momentum as Jitender Yadav executed a Super Tackle on Vinay.

There wasn’t much action on the attacking end until Ghanshyam Magar eliminated three Gujarat Giants players with a Super Raid. After having a quiet first half, Mohammadreza Shadloui sprang into action with his first points at the stroke of half-time, making his mark with a Super Raid to clean up his opponents with an ALL OUT, giving Haryana Steelers a lead six-point lead after 20 minutes.

The pair of Patare and Vinay kept the Haryana Steelers in a comfortable position with some raids early in the second half. Mohammadreza Shadloui grew into the game too, this time with a Super Tackle as his team went into cruise control.

The Steelers inflicted another ALL OUT towards the end, capping off a well-rounded team effort from the Haryana Steelers, handing the Gujarat Giants their sixth consecutive loss this season.

Tags : U Mumba, PKL, Pro Kabaddi League, Haryana Steelers, Gujarat Giants, UP Yoddhas