PKL 2019 | We know how to control the game and win, says Dharamraj Cherlathan
PKL
Haryana Steelers captain Dharamraj Cherlathan, after their fourth win of the season, has said that his team knows how to control the pace of the game and that helps them win. He also added that their team is more settled now as compared to earlier in the league stage which helps them perform better.
Haryana Steelers are at fourth position on the points table after their win against UP Yoddha as they won 36-33 in a close encounter last night. Haryana Steelers’ both the department contributed equally to the win. Even though the first points of the game went into UP Yoddha’s account they were unable to avoid an early all-out. UP Yoddha got back into the game in the second half when they managed to inflict an all-out onto Haryana Steelers despite Naveen’s best effort to save them. Haryana was able to recover quickly from the all-out and as a result, they won the game.Â
“We have a lot of seniors in the team, who take care and guide the team very well. We know how to control the game and get to victory, which is why we controlled the game and won by a few points tonight,” Haryana Steelers captain Dharamraj Cherlathan.
Haryana’s defence was better as they collectively scored 12 points as compared to UP Yoddhas defence who scored 10 points. Fifty percent of the points came from Sumit as he scored 6 points from 8 tackle attempts also this was his second high five of the season. In the raiding department, Vikas Kandola was a one man show as he scored 12 raid points even when the opposition was well prepared for him.
“No, there wasn’t any pressure because we were told not to take unnecessary pressure on ourselves as doing that could work to the detriment of the team. We knew if we could get three points by inflicting an All-Out in the end then we’d be on top and that’s what we did,” Vikas Kandola said.
The difference between the two teams was that Haryana was able to hold their nerves better even when they were behind whereas UP Yoddha panicked and gave away points especially in the last few minutes. Even though coach Rakesh Kumar was not on the bench the players held their own and won the match for him.
“Yes, it’s very good that we won today. It definitely helps our confidence a lot. In the first three matches we weren’t settled and played a bit loose. But now we’re set, and we’ll keep giving our best performances for the team in an attempt to get to the top (of the standings),” Cherlathan said when asked about the weather the win affected team’s confidence.Â
