Iranian defender Fazel Atrachali clinched a ‘high five’ and led their defence with perfection to help former champions U Mumba trounce Telugu Titans 41-27 in a rescheduled Pro Kabaddi League fixture in Kolkata on Tuesday.
The Iranian defender also scored six tackle points from eight attempts and was ably supported by Arjun Deshwal with nine points as the Season II champions recorded an easy victory that saw them leap to fifth place in the table.
Initially, both teams tried to minimize their mistakes in the match, which was slated for Friday, had to be brought forward due to unavoidable circumstances.
Siddharth Desai, playing against his former side, was easily the best raider on the mat in the initial minutes, and it was not surprising to see Telugu Titans clinch an all-out in the 14th minute of the first half and open up a four-point lead.
Mumbai quickly initiated their comeback by tackling Desai off the mat. The star raider’s absence in the closing minutes of the half meant the Titans struggled to dominate the mat.
On the back of a two-match ‘Super 10’ streak, Abhishek Singh and Deshwal then helped the Mumbai side reduce Titans to just one player.
But Farhad Milaghardan saved the Telugu team the blushes by picking up two points in the final raid of the half to prevent an All-Out as both teams were locked 15-all at the break.
U Mumba got their all-out in the second minute after the restart with Atrachali’s tackles helping them open up a sizeable lead.
Left corner Vishal Bhardwaj of the Titans pulled off a mighty Super Tackle in the seventh minute of the second-half to delay what was beginning to look like an inevitable all-out.
But Atrachali executed another ankle hold en route to his ‘high five’, while Arjun Deshwal produced a smart raid to finally give Mumbai lead in the 13th minute that gave a nine-point lead.
Resolute defending helped Mumbai inflict another all-out with two minutes remaining as they ensured Titans were given no opportunities to mount a comeback.