U Mumba downs Pirates

BRILLIANT EFFORT: U Mumba's Rishank Devadiga (right) came up with a devastating raid that set the tone for his team's victory.

U Mumba improved on its excellent record in the ProKabaddi League with a 32-27 victory over Patna Pirates here on Saturday.

U Mumba has now won 11 of the 12 matches it has played so far, and a semifinal spot is guaranteed.

Patna Pirates, meanwhile, will need to come out on top in both the remaining fixtures to stay in the hunt.

It was Patna Pirates which began strongly, taking an early 3-0 lead.

The joy was short lived when U Mumba drew level at 6-each. A devastating raid by U Mumba’s Rishank Devadiga — he shoulder-charged the defender all the way past the mid-line — then set the tone for the remainder of the fixture.

Soon after Devadiga’s play, Patna was relegated to an all-out.

The score moved to 12-6 in U Mumba’s favour — the table-topper taking a firm grip on proceedings.

With a minute to go, Patna Pirates attempted to force its way back into contention.

A ‘lona’ cut the lead to two points, but a few rushed attempts to beat the clock was not enough to deflate the confident U Mumba squad.

The results: U Mumba 32 (Anup Kumar 7) bt Patna Pirates 27 (Girish Maruti 5); Bengaluru Bulls 43 (Manjeet Chillar 9, Dharmaraj Charalathan 7, Ajay Thakur 6) bt Telugu Titans 29 (Prashant Rai 10, Sandeep 8).