Pro Kabaddi 2018, Puneri Paltan vs U Mumba, Highlights: As It Happened

After two third place and one fourth place finish in the last three editions of the league, Puneri Paltans will look to do better this time around. In their first match of the season, they face U Mumba at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai.

22:25 hrs IST

File image of U Mumba players in action against Puneri Paltan. (AP)

Match ends

A stunning piece of play in the dying second of the match as Paltans snatch a tie from the jaws of defeat. First, Tomar won a touch point off Fazel and then the defenders took out Desai as Paltans won two points inside 30 seconds to force the match into a tie.

22:20 hrs IST

Match heading towards a close finish

With just one minute left to be played, Mumba hold a two point lead and will look to just wind down the clock as much as possible. Time-out has been taken as 27 seconds left on the clock and Paltans will go for the raid now.

22:16 hrs IST

Fazel strikes

Mumba skipper Fazel brings down Sandeep Narwal to win a point for his team. Siddharth Desai is then taken out by the Paltan defenders and he seems to be a bit hurt as well. But is doesn’t look serious as he gets back up. Mumba lead 30-29 with four minutes left to be played.

22:12 hrs IST

Paltan defenders bring down Darshan Kadia to reduce the deficit to point, however, Akshay Jadhav is taken out during his raid and that means Mumba keep their two-point advantage over the opponent.

22:08 hrs IST

Cautious approach by both teams

The raiders from both the teams are taking a rather cautious approach in order to not concede points. The raiders are happy with not winning points rather than going for the kill and getting caught. U Mumba still lead 27-25.

22:03 hrs IST

Tomar strikes again

Nitin Tomar wins a raid point for the Paltans, but more importantly he ousts U Mumba skipper Fazar in the process. Paltans now trail 24-26 with 12 minutes left to be played in the second half.

21:59 hrs IST

Desai keeps Mumba ahead

Paltans’ Nitin Tomar completes his ten points in the match with a raid point. However, Siddharth Desai takes his tally to 12 as he affects a stunning super raid to take his tally to 12. Mumbai lead 25-21

21:54 hrs IST

Good start for Paltans in second half

Puneri Paltans have made a good start to the second half as they have won two points already and levelled the match. Monu won a raid point for them and they brought down Abhishek Singh to level the match at 20-20.

21:46 hrs IST

Half-time

Puneri Paltan are doing their best to reduce the lead and Nitin Tomar wins two raid points to help them claw back into the match. Then, Siddharth Desai is taken out by the Paltans and they have reduced Mumba’s lead to 20-18.

21:41 hrs IST

All-out

U Mumba have affected the first all-out of the match as the defenders get rid of Grish. Then, Abhishek Singh wins a raid point and a bonus point to extend Mumba’s lead to 18-15.

21: 38 hrs IST

Desai on fire

U Mumba’s Siddharth Desai turned the match on its head by winning back to back raid point to take his team into the lead for the first time in the match. However, in his next raid, he is taken down and he also concedes a bonus point. The two teams are now locked at 11-11 in the first half.

21:33 hrs IST

Time-out

The officials have called for a time-out after a frantic first nine minutes of play here in Chennai. Nitin Tomar and Siddharth Desai have set the tone for a pulsating match as the two teams are almost going neck and neck. At this point in time, the Paltans hold slight edge in the match.

21:30 hrs IST

Tomar vs Desai

Paltan’s Tomar and Mumba’s Desai are winning raid points at will for their respective sides. Tomar already has six raid points to his name while Desai was won six raid points as well. Paltans have opened a slender 9-6 lead in the match.

21: 26 hrs IST

Good start by both teams

All the five raiders who have gone to the other side of the court have won a raid point for their respective team. But Paltans Nitin Tomar is leading the pack as he has already won three points for his team and they lead 4-3 in the first few minutes of the match.

21:22 hrs IST

Toss

Puneri Paltans have won the toss and they have chosen to start from the right side of the court. This means that U Mumba will start the match with a raid.

21:17 hrs IST

Match about to begin

The players are making their way in the middle and we are about to get underway in the second match of the season. The first Maharashtra Derby is about to begin here in Chennai.

21:12 hrs IST

Match 1 recap

Tamil Thalaivas started their campaign on a high as they thrashed defending champions Patna Pirates 42-26. Ajay Thakur was the star of the show for the home side as he won 14 points for his team.

21:08 hrs IST

Hello and welcome

A very warm welcome to the live blog of the second match of the PKL 2018 between Puneri Paltan and U Mumba. The two teams will look win their first match of the season to set the tone for the coming matches.