Defending champions U Mumba thrashed Bengal Warriors 30-17 in what was virtually a no contest to inch closer towards a last four berth in the ongoing Pro Kabaddi League in Jaipur on Tuesday.
U Mumba established a 17-6 lead at half-time which appeared huge because till then Bengal Warriors had just managed to score two points each in defence and attack. The other two were courtesy U Mumba as Rakesh Kumar and Rishank Devadiga stepped out of court.
Bengal Warriors suffered as Jang Kun Lee, their main hit man who had literally tormented Jaipur Pink Panthers on Monday, was absolutely clueless on Tuesday in the absence of raiders Nitin Tomar and the off-colour Mahesh Goud.
U Mumba was strong both in defence and attack and the cutting edge this time came from their attack which initially destroyed the rival defence. And when their defence came up with unbelievable tackles, especially from the left-corner Fazel Atrachali, who had a cent per cent success record of six out of six tackles, the Kolkatans fate was sealed. This was the Kolkata outfit's sixth straight loss to U Mumba in the history of the league.
The win for U Mumba, however, doesn't alter the position of the champions. They trail second placed Bengal Warriors, who have 37 points in 11 matches, by two points. Both the teams have a chance to make the cut. Bengal Warriors have three matches in hand and U Mumba have as many as five.
U Mumba was more ruthless in the latter half, although their rivals scored more than what they had done earlier. The second all-out was inflicted in the 26th minute for a score of 24-9 in the winners' favour. Jang Kun Lee was kept out of court till the 23rd minute after his exit in the 11th minute and that hurt Bengal Warriors further.
To add to Bengal Warriors mounting problems was the failure of Vineet Sharma who had an opportunity to make an impact. Only Umesh Mhatre showed some semblance of a fight but he didn't have the skills and stealth of Nitin Tomar, the lead raider who is nursing an injury.
