A good team is able to win from a position where the thought of winning isn’t even possible. They create the atmosphere of being unable to cross the finish line as winners and surprise everyone when they pull a rabbit out of the hat in doing so. To do it once might count as luck, to do it four times – there must be some science behind it. For the first half of Season 2 of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi, U Mumba have won 7 games in a row in every imaginable way possible.
Wins against the other 7 teams in the league and sitting pretty at the top of the table with 35 points brings a smile to captain Anup Kumar’s face. A record like this after they fell short at the last hurdle in Season 1, is something to be cherished. But they are not sitting on their laurels. They continue to train harder and prepare better for the second half of the season. They realise that as quickly as they have risen, they can fall down even quicker. The task at hand involves qualifying for the play-offs with a comfortable margin. There is no overconfidence in their playing style because they realise that they need to be grounded at this level. How do they achieve that? “Because we have had to fight to the very last second for every victory, excluding a couple of matches,” says Anup Kumar.
Their Maharashtra rivals, who haven’t had the good fortune of experiencing a similar run of results in Season 2 so far, Puneri Paltan stretched them close till about the 25th minute in their match on the 21st of July at the end of the Mumbai leg. “This is good for us,” admits the policeman hailing from Haryana. “It prevents us from being complacent. Being in such a good position after 7 games could make us content at how the tournament is progressing for us. Given a choice, I would take a close match where we win by 2 points because they allow us to be pushed to our limits during a match situation. I would take a win either way but these close wins demonstrate that we can emerge victorious while being kept on our toes. A good team thrives in adverse conditions, with their backs against the wall and U Mumba have proved that.”
In an exciting match vs Telugu Titans on the 26th of July in Jaipur or their Maharashtra Derby vs Puneri Paltan, the favourites of viewers of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi have strung together a few heart stopping comeback wins. Regarding this style of play displayed by U Mumba, Anup recounts, “This type of do-or-die situation we found ourselves in has helped us to unite as a team of fighters. If one of us fails individually, there is always the team to step up and help him on any given day.”
One example of how these 7 wins in Season 2 have tapped the depth of the U Mumba squad was noticed in their match vs Dabang Delhi on the 1st of August in Patna. Coach E Bhaskaran has proved his mettle with an out-of-the-box approach this season. He came up with a masterstroke vs Delhi by bringing on youngster Bhupender Singh who ultimately proved to be the man of the match with the Delhi defenders unaware of how to deal with the fast moving Punjab lad. Bhupender’s show has given Bhaskaran plenty of options. He has been giving a look in to Pawan Kumar too. He is a tall boy who can use his height and reach for the bonus and hand touches on opponents.
Considering the inclusion of the Iranian captain in Fazel Atracheli, Bhaskaran has kept his plans for him close to his chest. While the Iranian joined the league late, Atracheli was instrumental in giving India a right scare in the 2014 Asian Games gold medal match with the Indians winning 27-25 ultimately. The potential of this man to be a match winner is immense and when the time does come, U Mumba might just become the complete package.
While the raiders department is stocked with experienced talent, the defensive department rests on the shoulders of two young men in Surender Nada and Mohit Chhillar, manning the left and right corners on the mat. Their evident friendship results in a fierce partnership on the mat that translates into amazing tackles and success for U Mumba as witnessed in the first half of the season. Captain Anup also lends his hand in defence with Rishank Devadiga learning the art of the ankle hold as well. These young defenders are led by U Mumba’s dare devil in Jeeva Kumar. The stocky figure can only be described as a force to be reckoned with by rival raiders when they enter his domain.
When looking into the future regarding the second half of Season 2 of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi, Anup was optimistic about his team’s success. “We love to be in a corner which is the hallmark of great champions.” After 7 fantastic outings against all the other 7 teams, this could be the secret to the success of U Mumba in Season 2.
With 3rd August being a break day for the league, this splits up the season into two halves with the first half ending in Patna and the second half beginning in Hyderabad on 4th August. This gives teams the time to regroup and recalibrate – in the case of U Mumba, to continue maintaining their momentum and pushing higher.
Watch Season 2 of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi LIVE on Star Sports 2, 3, HD2, HD3 and hotstar.com from 7:50pmonwards
Star Sports Pro Kabaddi – Points Table after Matches 27 and 28 as of 2nd August
| POS | TEAM | PLAYED | WIN | LOSS | DRAW | POINTS |
| 1 | U MUMBA | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
| 2 | TELUGU TITANS | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 26 |
| 3 | BENGALURU BULLS | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 25 |
| 4 | PATNA PIRATES | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 20 |
| 5 | DABANG DELHI | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 16 |
| 6 | JAIPUR PINK PANTHERS | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 13 |
| 7 | BENGAL WARRIORS | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 11 |
| 8 | PUNERI PALTAN | 7 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 10 |
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