Mumba pips Paltan, finishes second

U Mumba Pawan Kumar jumps to escape from Puneri Palian team, during the Pro Kabaddi 2014 at Sree Kanteerva Stadium, in Bangalore on Wednesday. Photo: K. Murali Kumar

U Mumba (51 points) finished the group stage of the ProKabaddi League in the second spot after surviving a late scare from Puneri Paltan here on Wednesday. Mumba won 36-35.

Paltan, which took the wooden spoon, recovered from a 32-35 deficit in the last minute of the match. Two raids, taken at lightning speed, yielded two touches, and one clean hold of a Mumba raider saw the scores level at 35.

Off the final raid, Paltan’s Wazir Khan went for the kill, but fell short. He moved from side to side in an effort to help his side finish its campaign on a high, but after a big struggle, it was the anti-raider unit which won the battle.

Seesaw battle

The match began with Paltans taking the lead even as Mumba struggled to find its feet. Captain Anup Kumar sparked Mumba into action, taking out three anti-raiders to put his side ahead by one point. A lona soon after saw Mumba enjoy a 15-11 advantage.

The match then meandered along without much action, and it seemed like Mumba was coasting to victory.

Drama was reserved for the last minute, but calm heads in the Mumba line-up saw the team through.

The result: U Mumba 36 (Anup Kumar 8, Rishank Devadiga 7) bt Puneri Paltan 35 (Wazir Singh 9, Manoj Kumar 7).