PKL 2019 | We don’t have stars but we make stars like Abhishek Singh, says Fazel Atrachali

U Mumba had a shaky start as they gave away three points in a super raid but they didn’t let the game get away from them and bounced back quickly. Despite multi-point raids by Haryana Steelers, they weren’t able to gain lead because Mumba was scoring in both departments. Mumba was able to inflict an all-out when a minute was left on the clock for half-time and hence ended the half with a seven-point lead. Their raiders then went on to wreak havoc on the opponent's defence and inflicted another all out the game finished with a scoreline of 46-38.

“Firstly, I’m very happy to qualify for the semi-finals. Similar to last season, no one believed that U Mumba could qualify, and everyone was looking for a star play in our team. But as I said last year, we make the stars, like Abhishek (this season). My idea is that if we play as a team, we win. I’m proud of my team as well as Abhishek and Arjun because they stuck to the game-plan. They executed everything that I asked them to do, so we have very good teamwork, and nothing is better than that,” Fazel Atrachali said during the post-match press conference. 

Though both the team’s raiding unit scored similar points, it was a big revelation for U Mumba as their raiding department had been under scrutiny even before the season started. The raiding unit scored 32 points courtesy of the raiding duo, Abhishek Singh and Arjun Deshwal. Abhishek and Deshwal scored 16 and 15 raid points respectively. This was their best individual performance so far.

“Fazel asked us to play freely straight from the outset, which is why my partnership with Abhishek thrived tonight, and our defence also delivered, hence we won, said Deshwal.