Abhishek and Deshwal star as U Mumba beat Haryana Steelers to secure semis berth

U Mumba set up a semi-final date with Bengal Warriors after a 46-38 win over Haryana Steelers at the EKA Arena by TransStadia in Ahmedabad on Monday. Abhishek Singh scored 16 raid points and Arjun Deshwal bagged 15 raid points as U Mumba got the better of Rakesh Kumar’s men in Eliminator 2.  

Both teams got on the scoreboard early, but it was Haryana Steelers that opened up a three-point lead in the opening exchanges after a Super Raid by Prashanth Kumar Rai. U Mumba, though, erased the deficit moments later and then moved into the lead momentarily.

Haryana Steelers regained their lead shortly after courtesy of a Vikas Kale tackle and a two-point raid by Vinay. Vikash Kandola also got into the action as the game approached the end of its first quarter with Haryana Steelers boasting more men on court.

However, the final 10 minutes of the opening half saw the Season 2 winners take charge of the encounter through a combination of great defence by ‘Sultan’ Fazel Atrachali and clinical raiding from Abhishek as well as Deshwal. They eventually inflicted the first All Out of the match to take a 20-15 lead just before halftime and went into the break with a seven-point cushion.

U Mumba extended their lead after the start of the second half thanks, primarily, to successful raids by Abhishek and Deshwal. They inflicted a second All Out on Haryana Steelers in the 6th minute to move into a position of strength with a 32-21 lead.

Haryana Steelers fought back through successful raids by Vinay and Kandola to enforce an All Out themselves and reduce U Mumba’s lead to 38-30 with less than eight minutes left to play. They continued to claw away at U Mumba’s lead before a two-point raid by Abhishek with five minutes left to play helped the Season 2 champions regain some momentum.

The final five minutes of the half witnessed U Mumba protecting their lead by running down the clock and picking opportune moments to score points on both ends of the mat. Their defence played its part and contributed tackles from Atrachali, Harendra Kumar and Young Chang Ko as the team secured a comfortable eight-point victory.

Top Performers:

U Mumba –

Best Raider – Abhishek Singh (16 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Fazel Atrachali (3 Tackle Points)

Haryana Steelers –

Best Raider – Vikash Kandola (12 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Chand Singh (2 Tackle Points)