UP Yoddha defeated U Mumba 35-28 in the 124th match of Pro Kabaddi Season 8. The most effective player of the match for the UP Yoddha was Surender Gill. He was ably supported by Pardeep Narwal. V. Ajith Kumar's efforts went in vain tonight.
Coach Jasveer Singh and Arjun Singh will be delighted with this win as it takes his team to the 2nd spot on the points table with 68 points. This loss leaves U Mumba in the 9th spot with 54 points.
UP Yoddha were dominant in the raiding department scoring 17 points to U Mumba 13. When it came to tackling UP Yoddha scored 13 points to U Mumba 12 points. UP Yoddha cleaned up the opposition into 2 All-Outs. And that made all the difference.
The mainstay of the UP Yoddha was Nitesh Kumar staying on the mat for 90% of the raids and scoring 2 points.
It was a cat and mouse game between the two sides, with teams trading points and lead changing sides 13 times over the game. But the game changed in the 78 raid when
UP Yoddha were simply superior in the raiding department led by Surender Gill
Surender Gill scored 8 raid points and he was supported by Pardeep Narwal with 6 points. Surender Gill kept picking points to keep the U Mumba at bay.
V. Ajith Kumar delivered for the U Mumba with 5 points, but it was not sufficient on the day against the UP Yoddha. U Mumba scored a total of 13 raid points and their raiders were tackled 15 times.
UP Yoddha scored when mattered
The teams were well-matched in both raiding and defence, but the UP Yoddha picked points when it mattered. Eventually, they sent U Mumba for 2 all-outs but conceded just 1. And that helped them get a sufficient lead to run away with the match.
Last minute all-out drowned U Mumba
In the 78th raid, U Mumba conceded an all-out as Surender Gill taking out Harendra Kumar,Fazel Atrachali who were the last men standing. This just widened the gap from which U Mumba never recovered.
Key Moments in the Match
| Raid 1 | UP 0 - 0 UM | Abhishek Singh (UM) | Abhishek Singh is risking his team into a Do-or-Die Raid. Risky Strategy! |
| Raid 2 | UP 3 - 0 UM | Pardeep Narwal (UP) | Super Raid! Pardeep raids successfully, gets Rinku Hari, Harendra Kumar out in addition to a bonus point. |
| Raid 8 | UP 4 - 2 UM | Surender Gill (UP) | Rinku Hari strikes, gets rid of Surender Gill. |
| Raid 15 | UP 6 - 5 UM | V. Ajith Kumar (UM) | V. Ajith Kumar gets another raid point as he takes out Sumit, Nitesh Kumar. |
| Raid 30 | UP 13 - 9 UM | Pardeep Narwal (UP) | Pardeep goes out after U Mumba executes a super tackle to perfection! |
| Raid 33 | UP 14 - 9 UM | Ajinkya Rohidas Kapre (UM) | UP Yoddha defense takes out Ajinkya Kapre out of the game. |
| Raid 35 | UP 18 - 10 UM | Harendra Kumar (UM) | Perfect team play, the defense ushers the raider Harendra Kumar out of the mat. Raider however pinches a bonus. |
| Raid 42 | UP 18 - 13 UM | Surender Gill (UP) | Raid sees Surender Gill taken out by the U Mumba defense. |
| Raid 43 | UP 19 - 13 UM | V. Ajith Kumar (UM) | Raid sees V. Ajith Kumar taken out by the UP Yoddha defense. |
| Raid 45 | UP 19 - 15 UM | Abhishek Singh (UM) | Abhishek Singh muscles his way past Ashu Singh, Shubham Kumar and picks up the point of the game. |
| Raid 48 | UP 20 - 20 UM | Shrikant Jadhav (UP) | Perfect team play, the defense ushers the raider Shrikant Jadhav out of the mat. Raider however pinches a bonus. |
| Raid 53 | UP 21 - 21 UM | V. Ajith Kumar (UM) | V. Ajith Kumar thrown out of lobby by UP Yoddha defense, Shubham Kumar manages to stay inside the line and saves a point. |
| Raid 54 | UP 24 - 21 UM | Surender Gill (UP) | SUPER Surender Gill WITH A SUPER RAID! He makes his way past half of the U Mumba defense and picks up 3 massive points for his side! |
| Raid 55 | UP 24 - 23 UM | Ajinkya Rohidas Kapre (UM) | Ajinkya Kapre gets another raid point as he takes out Sumit, Shubham Kumar. |
| Raid 78 | UP 35 - 28 UM | Surender Gill (UP) | Surender Gill locks horns with Harendra Kumar, Fazel Atrachali, but manages to get across the line. |
