Bengaluru Bulls, U Mumba reach Pro Kabaddi League Playoffs
Panchkula, Oct 2: Defending champions Bengaluru Bulls and U Mumba sealed their places in the playoffs of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) with easy wins , here on Wednesday.
High-Flyer Pawan Sehrawat was once again the hero for the Bulls as they beat home team Haryana Steelers 56-39. Sehrawat scored a record-shattering 39 points, three more than what the entire Steelers managed.
He bettered Pardeep Narwal's 34 raid points score in a match.
U Mumba sealed their place in the playoffs with a 30-26 win over Patna Pirates.
Skipper Sultan Fazel Atrachali remained rock solid in defence yet again as the captain led from the front to neutralise Patna's Pardeep Narwal with a strong performance at the Tau Devilal Sports Complex.
U Mumba started the first half brightly with the defence taking an aggressive stance from the first minute.
Fazel Atrachali set the tone early with double thigh hold tackle on Narwal in the very first minute of the match.
Abhishek Singh, ably supported by Athul MS, provided the firepower for Mumba in the raids as Mumbai cruised to a lead. They clinched their first all-out of the match in the 9th minute to open up an 8-point lead.
Fazel reached the milestone of 300 overall points in the process. But Patna clawed their way back in the closing stages of the half thanks largely to improved performances by Pardeep Narwal and Jang Kun Lee.
The Dubki King' Narwal produced a two-point raid with under three minutes left for the half time to reduce Mumba's lead to 5 points. The half ended 17-13 with Mumbai on top.
U Mumba started the second half with a Super Tackle on Narwal but Patna composed themselves to stay in the match despite Pardeep being off the court for a long duration.
Mohammad EsmaeilMaghsoudlou impressed with his all-round efforts while Jang Kun Lee's improved raiding also helped Patna stay in touch. Fazel meanwhile was giving everyone a masterclass on captaincy, marshalling and motivating his troops to stick to the gameplan.
Patna got lucky with six minutes remaining when Jang Kun Lee ventured out-of-bound and took three U Mumba defenders with him.
With the point margin reduced to just a point and momentum heavily on Patna's side, the three-time champions sniffed an all-out but Rohit Baliyan's kick helped U Mumba revive another player to stay in the lead.
The Mumbai defence held firm in the final minutes to clinch a seat in the playoffs.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
EC-TMC meet ends on bitter note; CEC asks TMC delegation to 'get lost', MP accused of 'shouting'
_vb_41.jpeg)
New Delhi (PTI): The meeting between a Trinamool Congress delegation and the full bench of the Election Commission on Wednesday culminated on an acrimonious note, with the TMC saying the panel's chief asked them to "get lost" at the end of the seven-minute meeting, while the EC accused them of "shouting".
After the meeting, TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien told mediapersons that they handed over letters from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, and also apprised him of specific instances of poll officials having links with the BJP.
"Then he said, 'Get lost'. We have done eight to nine meetings with the Election Commission. Apart from the CEC, none of the other election commissioners spoke," O'Brien said.
"While we were walking out, one of my colleagues congratulated Gyanesh Kumar for being the only CEC to have notices moved in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for his removal," O'Brien MP said.
Meanwhile, sources in the Election Commission said the poll panel chief gave a "straight talk" to TMC leaders.
They accused O'Brien of shouting at the election commissioners and alleged that he asked the CEC not to speak.
The EC sources further said the elections in West Bengal would be "fear-free, violence-free, intimidation-free, and inducement-free."
_vb_97.jpeg)
