PKL 2019 | If your defence is strong, you can win every match, says Deepak Niwas Hooda

Jaipur Pink Panthers have some very good raiders who have been consistent enough in this season. They are led by Deepak Niwas Hooda and in the last few matches, players like Nilesh Salunke and Deepak Narwal have also done well for them. In the previous game, Narwal scored a super 10 while in the second home game against Bengal Warriors, it was Salunke who had impressed with 15 raid points.

However, Deepak Hooda has stated that the raiders can only win a few games for the team and it is the defensive unit which needs to come good. Jaipur have players like Amit Hooda and Sandeep Dhull in their side this edition who had some good outings in the first few games this season.

"Raiders can win you two-three matches but if your defence, which is the core of your team, is strong, then you can win every match. There may be a few matches which raiders can change single-handedly but mainly things come down to how well the defence plays," Deepak Hooda told prokabaddi.com.

"Coordination, in particular, is always required in defence.  If one defender goes for a tackle and the others don't support him then even a good tackle can go to waste. They have to keep communicating with each other non-verbally as well. Like if I'm in the corner, I'll let the other players know when I'm going to go for a dive so that they can come in and support me." 

Dhull is the leading defender of the season and has 65 tackle points to his name from 19 games at the left corner position for the inaugural champions. He has Amit Hooda as his partner in the other corner who has 35 points from 13 games so far. Dhull, who has five high 5s this season, is of the opinion that scoring a high 5 is more difficult than getting a super 10.

"A raider can claim multiple points in a single raid during a Super 10. But a defender can only earn a maximum of two points and that too during a Super Tackle, which is the most difficult to execute in a match. That's the reason a High 5 is more difficult compared to a Super 10," the left corner explained. 

"There is immense pressure to deal with during a match and we need to concentrate our minds and bodies into the game.”