U Mumba beat Delhi Dabang in PKL contest

Former champions U Mumba rode on fine performances from captain Anup Kumar and Shabeer Bappu to register a comfortable 33-21 victory over Delhi Dabang KC in a Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) contest at the Mankapur Indoor Stadium here on Saturday.

Anup (7 points) and Shabeer (6 points) played vital roles in the opposition's half with their pace and movement which resulted in successful raids or bonus points to help their side defeat Delhi Dabang by a margin of 14 points.

For Delhi, Meraj Sheykh (7 points), who started from the bench along with stand-in captain Nilesh Shine (5 points) played a crucial role for their side but in the end failed to register victory.

After Delhi Dabang took the lead with their initial raids, U Mumba came from behind with the help of raider Shabeer Bapu, along with captain Anup Kumar and Surinder Singh to take a 10-point advantage over their opponents and all-out Delhi twice in the first half.

However, Delhi with the help of bonus points, and successful raids from Nilesh Shinde and tackles brought the deficit down to six points with the first half scoreboard reading 14-8.

In the second half, U Mumba looked to build on their lead with the help of a super raid from Anup Kumar which earned his side two points. The Mumbai outfit also pulled off a super tackle to add to their tally.

For Delhi, Meraj Sheykh combined his leg movement and pace inside the opposition half well along with R. Sriram picking up important points through his successful raids to earn a few points but failed to help his side take the lead.

Delhi Dabang were all-out four times in the entire match.

--IANS

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