PKL 2019 | Game turned when I got out against two players, says Maninder Singh
Bengal Warriors’ skipper and raider Maninder Singh believes that the team missed a winning chance when he got super tackled and missed a chance to inflict and all-out as the lead went down to one point. Bengal Warriors lost their third match on Monday against Haryana Steelers by three points.
This match witnessed two super raiders, one by each team and both in the first half and that ensured that this is going to be a raider-heavy match. Firstly, two minutes into the game Vinay of Haryana Steelers managed to oust three players of Bengal’s defence and increased Haryana’s lead by three points. In a return to that, K. Prapanjan replied back with a super raid of his own where he ousted four of Haryana’s players and as a result of this Haryana were all-out 10 minutes into the game. Though Haryana did make a quick recovery and finished the first half leading by a point. Bengal’s defence made mistakes repeatedly and did advanced tackles even when it was not necessary and because of that, Bengal got all-out in the second half.
“The pressure was there and when I got caught against two players on the mat, I felt the match turned slightly in that moment. If I didn’t get caught then, I feel that we’d have won the game,” Bengal Warriors captain Maninder Singh said in the post-match press conference.
In the defense, Bengal fell behind as they were to score only five points as compared to Haryana’s eight. They made a lot of mistakes at crucial points which cost them the game. Both the teams scored highly in the raiding department. Bengal Warriors' top scorer was Maninder with 15 points whereas Haryana's lead scorer was Vikas Kandola with 11 points. Vikas Kandola was well supported by Vinay who scored nine points.
“I’m more interested in how the team performs than personal achievements and I am happy that the team won. If the defence doesn’t do well, it’s difficult for the raiders to perform. The most important thing was to get the win and I’m happy I could contribute,” Vikas Kandola said.