Pro Kabaddi League: U Mumba eases into victory against Gujarat Giants

Both teams started with an equal trade-off as the first 30 minutes passed. However, courtesy of a solid defensive setup, the Mumbai-based side edged past and took the lead. 

The raiders built around their steely defence to ensure U Mumba walked away as the winners. Raiders Guman Singh and Heidarali Ekrami collectively scored 22 points in the match.

Rakesh and Guman were the star raiders of both teams in the first 10 minutes of the match before the former attacked U Mumbai leaving them with two players on the mat. 

They survived by knocking Rakesh off in his next raid to take the lead at 10-8. Mohit inflicted a super tackle in the 15th minute to extend their lead, but Gujarat's raider Parteek Dahiya levelled the score at 14-14.

Both teams drew at 16-16 heading into the half-time break. Sandeep Kandola caught Heidarali Ekrami, and then U Mumba captain Surinder Singh challenged Parteek Dhaiya. 

Rakesh threw in a great raid in the 28th minute and pushed his team to a 24-22 advantage. However, U Mumba tackled Rakesh and restored their lead at 27-25.

Surinder and Mohit bolstered U Mumba's defence as they continued to tackle raiders and increase their lead to 30-25. The Mumbai side inflicted an all-out in the 35th minute and increased the gap. 

U Mumba did not fumble and ended the match with a comprehensive 37-29 victory.

Bengal Warriors secure clinical win over the defending champions Dabang Delhi

Bengal Warriors held on to a consistent defensive setup and defeated Dabang Delhi K.C. 35-30 in the ninth edition of PKL at the Shree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium on Wednesday.

The raiding department moved neck to neck as the top raiders from both teams - Maninder Singh and Naveen Kumar - got 10 points each. The victory is credited to the Warriors defenders - Vaibhav Garje topping with six points and Girish Maruti finishing with five. 

Naveen Kumar was transparent with his strategies early on as he tackled Warriors' Girish Maruti Ernak in their left corner and knocked him out in Delhi's first raid. 

There was an intense trade-off as Maninder Singh chased Naveen's raids. The defending champions almost inflicted an all-out in the 11th minute, but a super tackle by Vaibhav Garje stopped Naveen in his tracks. 

The Warriors improved their defence and threw in do-or-die-raids at Delhi's second and third raiders, Manjeet and Ashu Malik. They finished the first half with a 15-13 lead.

The Warriors were highly energetic in the first five minutes of the second half. Ajinkya Kapre's super raid took out Ashu Malik, Vijay Kumar, and Krishan, due to which Delhi was left with only Naveen Kumar on the mat. 

He was tackled in the next raid as the Warriors secured their first all-out of the match and garnered a 23-18 lead. Garje exuded exceptional defending skills in the second half that overcame Delhi's lethal attacking department. 

The Bengal Warriors-Dabang Delhi K.C. match marked the Bengaluru leg's end. The ninth edition of the competition will move to the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune on Friday.