PKL 2019 | Proud of the way we came back after the early setback, says Srinivas Reddy
PKL
Jaipur Pink Panthers’ coach Srinivas Reddy said that he is proud of the way his team came back after getting all-out in the first half and drawing the match against Haryana Steelers. However, these three points didn’t help Panthers get back into Top 6 as they are still behind UP Yoddha by one point.
Jaipur Pink Panthers started on a strong foot but they came back well into the game and tied their match against Haryana Steelers 33-33 last night. They suffered an all-out following a Vikas Kandola super raid which resulted in an all-out for them and also continuous points after that had them finishing the first half lagging behind by 4 points. They came back into the game slowly and steadily and inflicted another all-out onto the Steelers when there were only 5 minutes left on the clock.
“We repeated the errors that we had made in the previous few matches. We played well and are proud of the way we came back after the early setback, so a tie is a fair result, I believe,” coach Srinivas Reddy said in the post-match press conference.
The Panthers gained a feeble lead of 3 points in the last two minutes but that didn’t help them as they gave aways those points in defence. In defence department, Sandeep Dhull scored 5 tackle points but apart from him, nobody was able to make an impact as no other defender scored more than one point. In the raiding department, it was an identical situation as only Deepak Niwas Hooda did well and scored 14 raid points.
“Given the form that they are in, we had no choice but to focus on them and strategize meticulously for this game. We managed to keep them quiet and executed the plan to perfection, but we could have won the contest,” coach Reddy said while talking about their strategy against Vikas Kandola and Prasntha Kumar Rai. Â
Their next encounter is today against Patna Pirates and they need this win desperately for reclaiming their spot in top 6. So they will be more prepared for today’s match.
“Patna Pirates played an incredible game last time around and Pardeep Narwal was unstoppable. And I’d also like to congratulate him on becoming the first player to reach 1000 raid points. An incredible achievement from an incredible player. The last time we played them in Patna, we emerged victorious and I’m confident that the team will emerge victorious in the upcoming match as well,” coach Shetty signed off.
