PKL 2019 | The team will also get motivated after this win, believes Ram Mehar Singh
PKL
Patna Pirates’ coach Ram Mehar Singh believes that their 26-point win last night is going to motivate the team which will lead to better performance and more chances of going into the top 6. This match witnessed history as Pardeep Narwal became the first player to cross 1000 raid points in PKL.
Patna Pirates won a match after six consecutive losses though they are still at the bottom of the points table with only four wins in 14 matches. They won their last match against Tamil Thalaivas by 25-51 last evening, dominating in both defence and raiding that resulted in four all-out for Tamil. Pardeep Narwal was the catalyst in this victory as he became the first person to cross 1000 raid point in Pro Kabaddi League. He scored 26 points in the whole match, which is 50 % of his team’s score.
“It’s a matter of pride for both Pardeep and the team that he became the first player to score 1000 raid points in the league. He gave his best tonight. The team will also get motivated after this win. Whenever your pupil does well, you have a sense of pride and that’s exactly how I feel right now with Pardeep crossing 1000 raid points," Patna Pirates coach Ram Meher Singh said in the post-match press conference.
"In the past few years when he was getting MVP awards and best raider awards, I used to be the happiest. It used to feel like a win for me and I feel similarly now with this latest achievement of his. I want him to continue in the same manner and it will be good for me, the team as well as the league,” he added.
Patna Pirates' raiding unit scored 28 points out of which 26 were scored by Pardeep Narwal, and this stat alone showcase how important he has been to this team and how much does his performance affect the results of their match. “I am feeling really good to have crossed 1000 raid points. It’s the most by any player in the league, so I am happy,” Pardeep Narwal said while expressing his happiness on this milestone.
Pardeep has been around since season 2 but has only played 38 matches in Season 2, 3, and 4 combined. He scored 1000 raid points in 99 matches and has an average of 10.26 raid points per match which is a huge achievement.
“Look, unlike Ajay Thakur and Rahul Chaudhari, Pardeep didn’t play the first season and missed quite a lot of the subsequent two as well. Despite that, becoming the first to reach 1000 raid points and beating big names to that mark is an achievement to be very proud of and we are very proud of him” coach Singh said while talking about Pardeep’s achievement.
Patna’s upcoming encounter is going to be against Jaipur Pink Panthers, who themselves are not part of the top six so will be desperate for a win. So, it’s going an interesting encounter between these two.
“Look, Jaipur Pink Panthers are a very good team and we had a very good game against them earlier in the season. We made some mistakes in defence as well as attack in that game. But I would like to say that Jang Kun Lee will be returning in the next match after being unavailable. He’s an experienced raider and can offer support in attack, so we will benefit. We will try to produce a similar performance like tonight against them and try to find balance between attack and defence,” Singh said about their approach in the upcoming encounter.
Even though Patna won this match their chances of entering the top 6 are slim but coach is hopeful, while talking about this he said, “I would just like to say that impossible is nothing and if we can lose six games in a row then I believe we can win just as many consecutively. So, it’s still possible for us to qualify for the playoffs,” Singh signed off.
