U Mumba are the true kabaddi pros

Winners all the way: U Mumba players celebrate beating Bengaluru Bulls 36-30 in the Pro Kabaddi League final at the Sardar Valabhbhai Patel Stadium in Worli yesterday.

U MUMBA won the second edition of the Pro Kabaddi League after beating Bengaluru Bulls 36-30 in an exhilarating final at the Sardar Valabhbhai Patel Stadium at NSCI, Worli yesterday.

Winners all the way: U Mumba players celebrate beating Bengaluru Bulls 36-30 in the Pro Kabaddi League final at the Sardar Valabhbhai Patel Stadium in Worli yesterday. Pic/Atul kamble

U Mumba rode on the heroics of raider Shabeer Bapu, who scored 10 points, to edge out the Bangalore franchise in a ill-natured final where tempers flared on both sides.

The match started cautiously, with both teams relying on defence to earn them points.

With U Mumba only slightly ahead at 9-7, Bangalore's Manjeet Chillar was only inches away from inflicting a ‘super raid' to equal the scores in the 17th minute. However, Chillar delayed touching the mid-line in the hope that some more U Mumba defenders might touch him. The move backfired as U Mumba defenders dragged him back from the centre-line. Three minutes later, U Mumba ended the first half with a 16-8 lead, thanks to an ‘all-out'.

In the second half, U Mumba looked to be running away with the match before a sensational Ajay Thakur raid in the 33rd minute inflicted an ‘all out' on U Mumba and brought both teams level at 23-23. Before the raid, Thakur had made 13 forays into U Mumba territory, but had not managed to score even a single point, being caught seven times. U Mumba's Shabeer then brought the entire stadium to its feet with a ‘super tackle' where he evaded two trunk-hold attempts to bring home three points to give the hosts a five-point cushion. The Mumbai team then saw out the game to pocket Rs 1 crore while Bangalore earned Rs 50 lakh.

In the third-fourth play-off, Telugu Titans beat Patna Pirates 34-26.