Mumbai: Mumbaikars braved the changing weather conditions to make it to the National Sports Club of India with the long wait finally over, and the first game of the Star Sports Pro Kabaddi was all set for a sensational debut, with the mouth-watering clash between UMumba and Jaipur Pink Panthers. It was a celebratory affair, with Faces of Mumbai, Amitabh Bachchan, the God of Cricket Sachin Tendulkar, and superstars Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan all in attendance, dressed in Pink showing their support for the Jaipur team.
In what seemed a nervy start, UMumba were the first to successfully pull down Maninder Singh, in the Panther's second raid. The vociferous support of the fans only seemed to drive the players that half centimetre deeper into the opponent's half. Five minutes into the first half and Jaipur seemed to be risking it all, first losing 2 players and then another through some power packed raiding from the Mumbai team. But their risks seem to have paid dividends, Jasvir Singh arguably the best raider in the first half was mounting the Pink Panther offensive, to destructive effect. Mid-way through the first half however he was successfully tackled, and soon after Jaipur lost their Captain Navneet Gautam. It all seemed to be coming apart at the seams as Panther Prashant Chavan stumbled over the outline while team mate Rohit Rana was also sent back packing to the Out-Box when he failed to bring down a determined U Mumba Shabeer. U Mumba had their first LONA points on the board, and their noses out in front.
Jaipur had to rebuild once again, this time their risks seemed to be losing them more points than earning them, 15 minutes in and UMumba were firmly stamping their authority over proceedings, their tackling incredibly efficient. Once again the bringing down of Jasvir Singh signals an almost domino effect among the Jaipur ranks, all falling within seconds of each other. The entire team is dismissed in amazing fashion as Mumbai streak firmly into the lead, at half time the score read 25-12 to UMumba.
The second half started in much the fashion the first began, the supporters making all the noise they could possibly muster and Jaipur desperately trying to get back into the game. Jasvir Singh and Maninder Singh were rotating raiding duties for the Pink Panthers and kept the team alive, but UMumba's superior defensive structure was proving impossible to overcome, still the Panthers piled on. It was now a straight battle between Jaipur's deadly raids and Mumbai's impenetrable defence.
The highlight of the second half came when U Mumba's Surendra Nada used his lightning speed to tag 2 members of the Jaipur anti and return home, a move that earned him the Best Defender and Moment of The Day awards, earning him a sweet Rs. 20,000 on the first night. Maninder Singh hit a streak late into the second half, tagging two members of the anti in successive raids to leave Mumbai with no one but their captain. He was tagged on the next raid to give Jaipur their very first LONA points on the night, at the 36 minute mark it seemed too late for Jaipur to come back. If not the scoreboard the thousands in the stands certainly felt it was over and soon it was. The game ended U Mumba 45, Jaipur Pink Panthers 30.
