Pro Kabaddi League 2015 - U Mumba continue winning streak, Patna Pirates too win

Day 15 of Pro Kabaddi League 2015 and what a feast it was. U Mumba, looking to keep their unbeaten streak alive, faced Dabang Delhi in the first clash of the night. The first half was very physical with tackles flying left, right and center. After 17 minutes, U Mumba trailed 6-9. Vishal Prabhakar Mane was substituted for a raider. This relatively unknown raider, Bhupinder Singh, was thrust right into action and he did not disappoint. He made a super raid earning 3 points in the process and leveling the score at 9-9. The last minute of the match and Dabang Delhi were down to 3 men and looking for a super tackle. Who better than Anup Kumar to exploit that situation but Ravinder Pahal showed just why he has been the best defender so far by getting a double thigh hold on his counterpart and earning 2 points for his side. Shrikant Tewthia was unsuccessful for his side and got tackled post Ravinder Pahal’s super tackle. Again Dabang Delhi were down to 3 men and another opportunity for a super tackle. Ravinder Pahal rose up to theoccasion and made a successful ankle hold on Rishank Devadiga to earn a further two points for his side. Dabang Delhi led by 3 points going into half time. Cometh the hour and cometh the man. The man of the hour was Bhupinder Singh who came on as a super-sub and earned 7 valuable points for his side. He never let Dabang Delhi go beyond reach and managed to get a point whenever needed. The turning point came in the 36^th minute when U Mumba trailed by a point and thanks to a super tackle by Anup Kumar, that deficit was converted into a 4 point lead. Despite a valiant effort by Dabang Delhi captain, Ravinder Pahal, it was not enough as U Mumba managed to grind out a 27-22 victory and remain undefeated so far in Pro Kabaddi League 2015.

Patna Pirates faced Puneri Paltan in the second clash of the night. Ravi Dalal was in and out of the opponents half with a bonus point in a flash while Puneri Paltan looked bewildered as to what just happened. Pravin Niwale had the first super raid of this match where he managed to earn a bagful of points for his side. This season, defenders have been making a mess of the do-or-die raids. They should ideally wait for a raider to make his move but they seem to be over excited at the prospect of earning a point and subsequently lose a point and more importantly themselves. It was witnessed in this tie where Pravin Niwale looked for a tackle unbefitting of his role as a raider and lost out in the process. Patna Pirates went into the break leading 20-13. At the 30 minute mark, Pravin Niwale came in to raid against just the 2 defenders of Patna Pirates. In what seemed to be a super tackle on him, a successful review overturned it into an all-out and he earned 4 points for his team. This brought them close but they never looked to mount a challenge as Patna Pirates won the match 32-28 with another brilliant team effort on display.