PKL 2021: U Mumba thrash Bengaluru Bulls in the first match of the season

U Mumba thrashed Bengaluru Bulls in the opening clash of season eight of the Pro Kabaddi League. Sultan Fazel Atrachali's side defeated Pawan Kumar Sehrawat's red army by a huge margin of 16 points. U Mumba's new poster boy Abhishek Singh emerged as the highlight of the inaugural match.

U Mumba coach Subramanian Rajaguru took a surprise decision to not include the Maharashtrian duo of Ajinkya Kapre and Sunil Siddhagawli even on the bench. Meanwhile, Randhir Singh Sehrawat brought new bulls Aman and Mayur Kadam in the defense line.

As it happened.......

The high-voltage encounter began with an extreme scoring rate from both sides. U Mumba forced all-out on Bulls at just 8 minutes on the clock. Bengaluru raider Chandran Ranjit's two super-raids brought the Bulls back in the game. But his efforts went in vain when last standing man Abhishek Singh scored a 4-point raid to keep Mumba on edge.

Abhishek scored the first Super 10 of Pro Kabaddi League season eight. He achieved the landmark in just 13 raids inside the first half. The first half drama ended on the scoreline of 24-17 in the favour of U Mumba.

Both teams continued the high-scoring pace of the game in the second half. Randhir Singh Sehrawat had to bring left-corner Amit Sheoran on the mat to stabilize the Bulls' crumbled defense. U Mumba raiders were making sure that their team remain in a dominant position throughout the second half. And at the full-time whistle, MumBoys successfully managed to keep Bulls from Bengaluru in the trailing position.

Bengaluru raiders tried their best to match U Mumba's scoring pace. But the efforts were not enough to save Bengaluru from the upset. Pawan Sehrawat and Chandran Ranjit's reliance on bonus points caused a blockage in revivals of their teammates. Rajaguru's strategy to play Ashish Sangwan on the right cover to stop Pawan turned out to be a masterstroke.

Star performer of the match

Abhishek Singh

Abhishek Singh had the best night of his broomy Pro Kabaddi career against Bengaluru Bulls. Abhishek carried his team against the tough defense of Bengaluru Bulls. The UP-based raider outperformed every other player by scoring a whopping 19 raid points. His tally of 19 raid points includes 15 touchpoints and 4 bonuses.

Total raids- 27

Raid points- 19

Touch points- 15

Bonus points- 4

Top3 raiders of the match-

Abhishek Singh (U Mumba) - 19 raid points

Chandran Ranjit (Bengaluru Bulls) - 13 raid points

Pawan Kumar Sehrawat (Bengaluru Bulls) - 12 raid points

Top3 defenders of the match-

Harendra Kumar (U Mumba) - 4 tackle points

Ashish Sangwan (U Mumba) - 3 tackle points

Mayur Kadam (Bengaluru Bulls) - 3 tackle points

Moment of the match

Abhishek Singh's four-pointer raid was worthy of the moment of the match. He had three touches and one bonus point from that raid. Bengaluru would have been in a competitive position if U Mumba's last standing man Abhishek had failed to revive his teammates at that moment. We also witnessed an amazing moment when U Mumba debutant Rahul tackled Pawan Sehrawat in the first minute of his Pro Kabaddi League career.