Mumbai-based franchise U Mumba began their 2018-19 Pro Kabaddi League season on a positive note as they eked out a narrow 39-32 win against Jaipur Pink Panthers in Wednesday night’s game. U Mumba scored eight straight points towards the latter stages of the match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai, courtesy of Rohit Baliyan and Siddharth Desai, who scored two raid points each. In addition to that,  U Mumba’s defence also got Anup Kumar and Deepak Hooda which enforced an All-Out and ended any hope that Jaipur Pink Panthers had of winning the match.

"We just believed in our team. We believed we could overcome the deficit. With teamwork, we knew we would overcome the odds. We plan a lot. If plan A doesn’t work, we move on to the next one. If one raider is having an off day, we try another raider. So that’s how it goes," said Atrachali at the post-match press meet last night.

"I’m delighted that I was chosen to be the captain of U Mumba. It is a massive team and it's an honour to captain them. It is my favourite team and I have the chance to play for them. And I hope the fans are happy as well.

"We look at every team as equal. All teams are very tough. We’ll have to give our 100 percent. We aren’t scared of anyone and we have to be ready to play as a team and give it our all. It is not our concern how the opponent team plays. But if we play to our potential as a team, we can win," Atrachali added.