Mumbai: The date - 31st August, 2014. The place - NSCI Stadium, Mumbai. The setting - The final of the inaugural season of Star Sports Pro Kabaddi between Jaipur Pink Panthers and U Mumba. This was the same fixture that opened Season 1 and will again open Season 2 on 18th July. But as Jaipur Pink Panthers lifted the trophy on that Sunday night, for U Mumba, it was a heart breaking story in the end.
The trophy seemed within the grasp of U Mumba at the beginning stages of the league with the presence of both their captain and star raider, Anup Kumar, and Shabeer Bapu, a raider well worth his salt. But after a horrible injury ending Shabeer's campaign, Anup Kumar was shouldered with the responsibility of carrying the U Mumba attack. They held on to an 8 match winning streak in the beginning but ended the league stage in 2nd position, losing 2 and drawing the remaining matches. It therefore came as a small consolation to them that they finished runners-up to Jaipur Pink Panthers. The champions themselves couldn't have predicted the result, having being beaten soundly by U Mumba in the opening encounter of Season 1. They then went on to finish the league stage at the top, registering an 8 match winning streak along the way.
Considering how severe Shabeer's injury turned out to be for UMumba, it is indeed surprising how effective Anup Kumar was in getting U Mumba to the play-offs. Rishank Devadiga was an ample foil to Shabeer's absence and even after his return from recovery, Shabeer was never fully able to establish his place as Anup's second-in-command. With his cool demeanour, Anup teased and tormented rival defences to finish the season with a tally of 124 raid points, only one less than 'Raider of the Tournament' Rahul Chaudhari managed to score. Named 'Captain Cool' by the commentators, the U Mumba leader was at his best when he would attack from the right. He would keep the two corner players at arm's length as he stretched his right arm, threatening them with a hand touch. He would then squat on his left leg and use the toe touch manoeuvre (now made famous by Anup himself) with the right leg to get his counterpart in the Jaipur team, captain Navneet Gautam, out.
On more than a couple of occasions, Navneet Gautam, an able defender and Indian international along with Anup Kumar, would fall into the trap laid out by Anup. If the toe touch didn't work, it was the hand touch. On the few instances that Navneet managed to grab hold of Anup's ankle, the latter would use the famous 'mule kick' to escape Navneet's grasp and reach the mid-line.
Despite Anup's tricks, Navneet managed to get one over him, especially in the final where it counted, with strong waist and ankle holds. The Jaipur skipper usually finds it difficult to bend low for the ankle hold because of his height which gives his opponent the advantage of evading the attack, especially when the opponent is someone as fit as Anup. As a defender, he managed only 17 successful tackles which can be considered as disappointing but it was his leadership skills that contributed to the success of the team. After all, a team is only as good as its leader and Jaipur Pink Panthers have a strong and able leader in Navneet. The Jaipur based franchise were also constantly supported by their enthusiastic owner, Abhishek Bachchan. The actor's presence at most of their matches buoyed the spirits of the players who were thus motivated to put up their best performance.
This rivalry between Anup and Navneet is all set to be renewed as U Mumba and Jaipur Pink Panthers set the league rolling by crossing swords in the opening tie for Season 2 on July 18th. It appears to be a lip-smacking opening encounter for the die-hard Kabaddi fans from Mumbai whose loyalties may be divided between the two teams. This match is sure to set the tone and tenor of the league with Navneet's boys keen on not letting go of the silverware and Anup's troupe determined to settle scores.
