PKL 2018 | Raiders getting tackle points is crucial for us, asserts Ram Mehar Singh

On a four-match winning streak, the defending champions are on a roll at the moment and are placed at the second position of the Zone B points table. Patna Pirates have 38 points from 13 games with seven wins and six defeats to their name this season. They performed exceedingly well in their last encounter against Tamil Thalaivas in which they took the revenge of the defeat in the first game by thrashing the Ajay Thakur-led side by a huge margin of 45-27 points. Skipper Pardeep Narwal was the best performer for the team with 13 raid points to his name while young Manjeet stepped up to the occasion and got eight total points to his name which includes three points from the defence as well. He stood at the right in position and effected three tackles in the evening to increase the pressure on the Thalaivas. This performance by the 22-year-old lad from Sonipat made the coach happy as he wanted something similar from the second and third raiders of the team.

Pardeep is playing as the main raider for the team from Bihar with Manjeet and Deepak Narwal playing the supportive role for the skipper. He is at the third position of the Top Raiders list in the sixth season of the Pro Kabaddi League with a total of 135 points from 12 games. The coach is quite hopeful that the skipper still has the chance to end up with the maximum number of raid points on the list.

Although the Pirates haven’t lost a single game in their last four, they had a terrible run in the Patna leg where they lost four games on the trot. They could manage only one win in the first and the last evening against Jaipur Pink Panthers and Bengal Warriors respectively. Their poor run not only disappointed the home crowd who came in large numbers to cheer for the defending champions but also affected their standings on the points table of Zone B. 

“Narwal’s injury during the home leg also affected our team and that can be a reason of us not doing well in the Patna leg like it was in the previous year. It’s quite natural that if the skipper and the best raider is not 100% fit it has to have some impact on the team’s performance.”

Patna Pirates is the most successful franchise in the history of PKL with three back-to-back titles to its name. The team defeated first timers Gujarat Fortunegiants in the summit clash in 2017 to lift the title for the third successive time after winning it in 2015 and 2016. Speaking about their chances this year, the coach seemed quite hopeful and mentioned that they need to carry on with the kind of form that they are in at the moment. According to him the matches against Telugu Titans and Bengaluru Bulls will be very crucial and there is a tough competition in Zone B.

“Bengaluru and Telugu might be tough opponents for us in the zone. We have done well against the Bengal Warriors in the season so far. According to me, competition is more in our zone and we have to do well to proceed into the next round.”

When asked about the pressure of being the defending champions, the two-time Asian Games gold medallist replied, “There is always some pressure being the champions for last three years. Team management, players and the coaching staff have this thing in their mind more often than not. A person always wants to go up and improve in whatever he is doing and I think the same as well. We want to win the title again. We want to live up the expectations and the players are always trying their level best to succeed as well.”