Derby Day delight for Puneri Paltan as they register a 19-point win over U Mumba

Vivo Pro Kabaddi Season 8’s first Maharashtra Derby went the way of the Puneri Paltan as they beat U Mumba 42-23. Skipper Nitin Tomar and left corner Vishal Bhardwaj picked up High 5s, while Aslam Inamdar scored six raid points in a massive win for their side.  

The Derby was a cagey affair in the opening minutes with neither team allowing the other to build a significant lead. U Mumba then picked up steam and scored three unanswered points but were quickly pegged by a Nitin Tomar Super Raid. Bhardwaj added another point to his team’s total with a tremendous tackle on Jashandeep Singh, leaving U Mumba with just two players on the mat.

Mohit Goyat got a touch point on Rinku, and in the subsequent raid, Abinesh Nadarajan Dashed Rahul Sethpal off the mat to inflict the game’s first All Out to give the Paltan a 14-8 lead. Three more tackle points from the Paltan’s defence helped their team finish the half strongly as they went into the break leading 18-10.

Aslam Inamdar gave the Paltan the perfect start to the second half with a two-point raid. Another touch point for the Paltan left U Mumba with just a solitary man, and in the subsequent raid, their defence made no mistake in pinning the final man down to inflict a second All Out on U Mumba to push their team’s lead up to 14.

U Mumba responded to the All Out with a couple of unanswered points, but errors from Rahul and Abhishek Singh helped the Paltan regain their significant advantage. Two more unanswered points from the Paltan left U Mumba with only Iranian duo Mohsen Maghsoudlou and Fazel Atrachali on the mat.

The Puneri defence tackled the all-rounder to reduce U Mumba to just Atrachali on the mat. The Left Corner surrendered a touch point without any resistance, which saw the Paltan take a 20-point lead. U Mumba simply couldn’t stop the Paltan freight train and soon found themselves down to three players again. Harender Super Tackled Mohit, and then Ashish Sangwan picked up a touch point to help U Mumba avoid another All Out.

Atrachali’s first tackle point of the night, followed by a two-point raid by Abhishek, reduced Puneri Paltan to just three men on the mat. U Mumba’s ace raider then went in again hunting for more touch points but was instead Super Tackled by Nitin Tomar, who completed his High 5. Mohit then added a touch point to his team’s total in the final raid to ensure a fitting end to a fantastic game for the Paltan.  

Top Performers

Puneri Paltan

Best Raider – Aslam Inamdar (6 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Nitin Tomar (5 Tackle Points)

U Mumba

Best Raider – Abhishek Singh (4 Raid Points)

Best Defender – Rahul Sethpal (2 Tackle Points)