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VIVO Pro Kabaddi 2019 is about to commence from 20th July 2019 where the hosts Telugu Titans are set to square off in the opener against U Mumba in Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad.
U Mumba won their maiden title back in season 2 under the captaincy of Anup Kumar. One of the highest profiled teams in PKL, U Mumba have appeared in the finals from Season 1 to Season 3 consecutively.
In Season 6, U Mumba was one of the strongest sides in the competition under the leadership of their new captain, Fazel Atrachali. He led the defense of U Mumba with confidence to become the third-best defender of the sixth edition.
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The offensive charge got led by the wonder boy from Maharashtra, Siddharth Sirish Desai. He bagged the best debutant of the year award with 218 raid points in 21 matches at an average of 10.38 raid points with 12 Super 10s to his name.
However, the team management decided not to retain Siddharth for the upcoming edition of the tournament. U Mumba ended their campaign against UP Yoddha with a defeat in the Eliminator (29-34).
The team management retained Fazel Atrachali, Surinder Singh, Rajaguru Subramanian, Arjun Deshwal, Mohit Baliyan (NYP), Anil (NYP), and Gaurav Kumar (NYP) ahead of the season 7 auction.
With Sanjeev Baliyan as their head coach, U Mumba signed 18 players into their squad with Sandeep Narwal being the most expensive player at 89 lakhs.
As the action-packed Kabaddi is about to kick start soon, let's take a look at three possible reasons why U Mumba will win their second Pro Kabaddi title.
#1 The corner-cover duo of Fazel Atrachali and Surender Singh
An attractive highlight about U Mumba's defense was the combination of Surender Singh (right cover) and Fazel Atrachali (left corner) in their campaign of Season 6. Both of them understood their game plan and executed them with precision to make U Mumba the team with the highest tackle points in the sixth season (289 tackle points).
Surender Singh had a remarkable campaign yet again last year after his dominant debut in season 5. He scored 62 tackle points in 22 matches at an average of 2.82 tackle points. Surender became the seventh-best defender of Season 6 where he executed some timely dashes and blocks to aid Fazel Atrachali in the corner.
Fazel Atrachali had the best season of his career last year when he scored 83 tackle points in 23 matches at an average of 3.61 tackle points. With his waist and ankle hold, Fazel Atrachali gained immense support from Surender where they executed combination tackles to ensure the defense remains intact.
The raiders shall win matches for U Mumba. However, with this defensive combination, U Mumba will be poised to win their second Pro Kabaddi title.
#2 Plenty of raiding choices
The raiding line-up of U Mumba comprises of talented raiders who if given the opportunity can score big and turn matches for the team. They are opportunistic raiders who'll aid in the offense for the team this season.
The raiding attack could get led by Rohit Baliyan, who scored 94 raid points in 19 matches in season 6. He will get the opportunity to become the lead raider for the team.
Rohit will get supported by Abhishek Singh, who will get the chance to showcase his skills this time. He scored 47 raid points in 15 matches last year.
Dong Geon Lee, Arjun Deshwal, Gaurav Kumar, Vinoth Kumar, and MS Athul are also in the raiding line-up of U Mumba. The lanky Korean, Dong Geon Lee specializes in bonus taking ability in crucial situations of the matches. He can also execute running hand touches on a fast-paced raid.
MS Athul and Arjun Deshwal both showed their caliber last year in their respective teams.
All in all, U Mumba can shuffle between these raiders and give them sufficient chances to prove their mettle. It will help the team to clinch many raid points as they can from a variety of formidable options.
#3 The beastly all-rounder, Sandeep Narwal
Sandeep Narwal has been a renowned name in Pro Kabaddi as one of the exciting all-rounders in the game. He is the second all-rounder to have crossed 200 points in both offense and defense.
A fearless defender, Narwal can score tackle points with his blocks, chain tackles, and dashes with his upper body strength which he displays on the mat. He executes his defensive moves with full force that restricts the raider to escape towards the midline.
Sandeep Narwal, as a raider, prefers to go up against a super tackle opportunity of the opposition. He shuffles and uniquely jumps across the court and can smoothly escape with his brilliant jumps.
Sandeep Narwal has 229 raid points in 101 matches. He also has 254 tackle points to his name at an average of 2.51 tackle points. He has turned into a defensive all-rounder as of now yet can score big in critical situations of the matches.
U Mumba bought Sandeep Narwal at an enormous price of 89 lakhs. He will be forming a corner partnership with Fazel Atrachali and will guide the defence as the vice-captain of the team.
