Pro Kabaddi League: U Mumba Set up Title Clash vs Bengaluru Bulls

They will face U Mumba or Patna Pirates next, on Sunday.

Against U Mumba, who have three fine raiders in Anup Kumar, Shabeer Bapu and Rishank Devadiga and backed up a very good defensive set-up headed by Jeeva Kumar, they can ill afford to loosen their grip at any stage of the final.

Patna Pirates made a last-minute entry into the semi-final with a two-point win over defending champions Jaipur Pink Panthers in their last match of the league phase. In this high-scoring match, Rajesh Narwal, with 10 points, failed to carry his team over the line as Sunil Jaipal and Mahendra Rajput scored 12 and 11 points respectively to end their campaign on a positive note. Patna Pirates are all out for the second time in the match.

U Mumba defeated the Bulls by 13 points in their first round clash here and then by seven points in Bengaluru 10 days ago. He nearly returned with a super raid and helped the Bulls establish a lead of 16 points (their biggest in the game). The next 15 minutes were dominated by the Bulls with Dharamaraj Cheralathan (nine points), Ajay Thakur (eight) and Chhillar (eight) proving to be a handful for the Telugu defence.

Mumbai captain Anup Kumar, who picked up four touch points in raids against the Pirates yesterday, was wary of their opponents in the final. “If we get Manjeet early, their defence also will weaken”, he observed after guiding his team to a one-sided semi final win over the Pirates. Patna Pirates have no clue how to take command of the game. The fortunes of the side has changed ever since Sandeep Narwal has taken over the captaincy.

As both the teams are best in the Pro Kabaddi season 2, and it hard to predict this match.

With the culmination of the Pune leg, Puneri Paltan were doomed to last spot just behind Bengal Warriors, while Dabang Delhi finished in 6th spot.

Bengaluru Bulls staved off a late fight back from their southern rivals Telugu Titans from Hyderabad to chalk out an exciting 39-38 victory and enter the final of the Pro Kabaddi League at the NSCI Stadium day.

The Pune leg was one of the most entertaining legs in the season and the culmination of the leg sees the league shift to Mumbai for the playoffs and the final.