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

This is getting really close as Pune manage to get a bonus point and with that Pune also get a tackle point. That has brought points at 32-32. It's a tie.  

Skipper Girish Ernak comes for a raid and Pune miss the plot there. He was never going to make it. A point gifted to Mumba, they lead 31-29 currently. 

Apart from Desai, what has made the difference is Mumba's defence led by their skipper Fazel Atrachali. Mumba are holding their lead and it's 30-29 for now. 

Pune, even though are lagging behind, they are not giving up the hopes of winning the match. Defence is going to be the key for both the teams. The scores stands at 28-26 for Mumba at the moment. 

Desai now gets a raid point in the do or die raid. This match has all been about him. Mumba are maintaining their slender two-point lead. 27-25 at the moment for Mumbai.  

Desai is in impeccable form and has scored 13 points already. With 14 minutes still to go he could even get 20. This is brilliant stuff from U Mumba raider. It's 26-23 for Mumba. 

Desai now comes up with a super raid and gets three valuable points for his team. That gives a handy four-point lead to Mumba at 25-21. 

Mondal has to pick up his game who has just bagged solitary raid point. This is where Pune is missing Deepak Hooda. Mumba is in lead again with 22-20.

The half gets underway. Now Abhishek takes charge of raiding for Mumba and he is unsuccessful. Pune has pulled back two points and the scores are level at 20-20. 

The first half gets over and Mumbai are certainly the better team till now. They lead 20-18 at the moment, but Mumba cannot be complacent. 

Mumba lead has ensured that Paltan lose their focus. That's showing in the way latter's defence is performing at the moment. Mumba is in lead at 19-17. 

Mumba is taking rapid lead in the match courtesy excellent raiding. Desai has single-handedly put Mumba in a three-point lead. It's 18-15 at the moment. 

Siddarth Desai has been brilliant till now and Sandeep Narwal has had no answers. He gets another couple of points. Nitin tries to get back some points but that is not enough at the moment. Mumba lead 14-13. 

Rajesh Mondal is looking out of sorts at the moment and that could cost Pune dear. The scores are level at 11-11 with 7 minutes to go in the first half. 

U Mumba draw level. All the hard work done by has come to nought. In fact Desai gets another raid point and Pune is lagging behind now. Mumbai leads 10-9 at the moment. 

In a do or die raid Rajesh Mondal is florred by Dhramraj Cheralathan. That's another point for Mumba. They are inching closer with 9-8. 

The strategy is clear from both the teams. They are utilising their frontline raiders only at the moment. That has worked Pune till now. They lead 9-6 currently. 

Sandeep Narwal is committing some errors in the defence here and Siddarth Desai has been brilliant for Mumba till now. But they are still playing the catch up game. It's 8-6 for Pune at the moment. 

Pune is using Tomar well, and he is delivering the goods too. He has returned with a point in each of his raids. And Girisg Ernak gets a point for brilliant defence too. Pune leads 6-4.

Nitin Tomar showing his class as he gets a touch to the bonus line and Desai gets back another point for Mumba. It's 4-3 in favour of Pune at the moment. 

The match is moving at a fast pace as Rajesh Mondal comes for a raid, and gets a point. The defender was caught napping there. Paltan leads 3-2 currently. 

U Mumba start with raiding and Desai gets a point for his team first up. And Nitin Tomar too bags a point for Pune. It's 1-1 at the moment.

We are just moments away from the start of the second match of the evening, and it promises to be a cracker. Both skippers come out for the toss. 

Bengaluru Bulls skipper Rohit Kumar will have his task cut out when his team steps on the mat. With a team that doesn’t have many star players, the onus will be on raider Kumar to turn on the heat and get big points for his side. He will have some support in raiding department from Kashiling Adake, but it is his leadership skills that could be prove to be game changer for the Bulls. In the past seasons he has been one of the most consistent raiders after Pardeep Narwal. 

The Dubki King, Pardeep Narwal was humbled during the Asian Games and great defence from the South Koreans and Iranians kept him at bay. He wasn’t given enough open spaces to raid, which led to his downfall. The ‘Most Valuable Player’ from Season 4 and 5 would look to add more weapons to his repertoire in the upcoming tournament. Most importantly he would be raring to go and prove a point that he is the best in the business after disappointing performance at the Asian Games. His improved show could bring positive results for Patna Pirates — the team for whom Narwal has performed brilliantly in the past.

Pro Kabaddi League Season 6 is round the corner and all eyes will be on star Indian players who will be seen in action for the first time after they were shocked by Iran in the recently concluded Asian Games. With the presence of foreign players, Indians would look to devise new strategies to counter threats from emerging nations in the sport. 

With Tamil Thalaivas posting an emphatic victory over Patna Pirates in the opening encounter, Puneri Paltan would be hoping for the same when they face U Mumba in the second encounter of the night. Hello and welcome to the live blog between Puneri Paltan and U Mumba.