Pro Kabaddi: Jasvir Singh, Siddhgaval star as Jaipur Pink Panthers beat U Mumba 39-36

Mumbai: The first match of the Vivo Pro Kabaddi league in Mumbai leg offered a special treat for all it fans who flocked to the NSCI Dome, Worli on the auspicious occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi.

The Jaipur Pink Panthers secured a convincing victory to beat U Mumba 39-36, thanks to an all-round performance in the end. 

Although the home team made an incredible comeback, Jaipur’s dominant first half performance proved to be the difference on the night, credit to impressive displays from captain Jasvir Singh and star defender Sunil Siddhgavali. 

The breathtaking atmosphere at the stadium cheered the home team as they drew first blood by taking down Jasvir Singh. U Mumba continued to grow in confidence, but the visitors made the best of the do-or-die raids to make it 2-2. 

Jasvir Singh was rushed into the game despite his full fitness, taking over the captain's mantle from Manjeet Chhillar. And surprisingly, the Jaipur captain set an example for his team with a five point raid that took the match to 13-8. 

A few minutes later, the 33-year-old extended Jaipur’s lead with 3 touch points to extend the lead to 18-9. All-rounder Pawan Kumar also dazzled for the Pink Panthers as U Mumba trailed by 10 points, with a score of 24-14 at the half time break. 

Given U Mumba’s attacking riches, lead by star captain Anup Kumar, Jaipur coach Balwan Singh adopted a more defensive approach as his boys took the court for the next period.  

The script did not change much in the latter half as Jaipur inflicted their third all out on U Mumba, with Jasvir coming to the party once again with his 10th point raid to extend the lead by 35-19. 

However, what brought U Mumba back into the game was their first all out raid as youngster Darshan Kadian and Kashling Adake dazzled to drag the score to 30-38. U Mumba captain Anup Kumar who has failed to turn up in the bigger matches, had a game below his standards. 

With 5 minutes to go on the clock, young raider Darshan's lone efforts were not enough to snatch a victory for Anup Kumar's men. U Mumba who had a dominant home record heading into the game(14 wins out of 16) were outplayed by their counterparts. Jasvir Singh was presented with the Perfect Raider of the Match Award, while player of the match was presented to Sunil Siddhgavali.