PKL 2019 | Vikas Kandola, Prashanth Rai’s return was a massive boost, says Dharmaraj Cheralathan

Haryana Steelers won their match on Monday against Puneri Paltan as they managed to handle their nerves better than their opponents. The first half of the game was full of twists and turns as both the teams were on the verge of an all-out but only one of them actually succeed in inflicting one. Haryana, with the help of their raiders, pushed Pune to the verge of an all-out 12 mins into the game but Pune made a comeback and levelled the scores fast enough. Then Haryana was the one on the line but with the help of a super-tackle and Vikas Kandola’s raiding skills, they finally inflicted an all-out when a minute was left for the first half to be over.

“Vikash missed a few games and so did Prashanth. Their return was a massive boost. We were finding our feet as a unit back then and now we feel much more comfortable with the personnel that we put out,” Haryana Steelers captain Dharmaraj Cheralathan said in the post-match press conference.

In the defence, skipper Chearalthan looked in good form and scored a high five. He was well-complemented by Ravi (4) and Sunil (3) who scored seven points combined. In the raiding department, Vikas completed his fifth super 10 and finished the match with a score of 11 raid points. Rai and Vinay supported him well by scoring four and five points respectively. 

“Vikash is a special player. He is playing well and not only does he play well, he’s quite smart in how he goes about his business. He recognises where the points will come and when they will come. He’s been an instrumental part of our success. Hopefully, he carries on like this for the rest of the campaign,” the Haryana skipper signed off.