PKL 2019 | We did not play to our potential against UP Yoddha, admits Srinivas Reddy
PKL
After failing to end their losing streak, Jaipur Pink Panthers coach Srinivas Reddy, has said that they lost their match against UP Yoddha because his side didn’t play to their potential. This loss resulted in Jaipur Pink Panthers slipping one rank and falling out of the Top 6 on the points table.
Despite having a good start courtesy of a three point super-raid by Sushil Gulia, Jaipur Pink Panthers lost the match with a scoreline of 32-38 against UP Yoddha on Monday. They suffered their first all-out 10 minutes into the game and they were not able to recover fast enough so they ended the first half lagging behind by seven points.
“The result is obviously disappointing. We did not play to our potential, especially in defence. We gave away too many multi-point raids. And that was probably why we lost,” coach Srinivas Reddy said in the post match press conference.Â
In the raiding department, Jaipur saw contribution from Deepak Niwas Hooda who scored 11 raid points and witnessed little cameos from other raiders. The biggest cameos was by Sushil Gulia who scored 5 points which includes a super-raid in the opening minutes of the match.
“Deepak Hooda was a silver lining for us today. Sushil Gulia, too, contributed some points from the opposite flank. So, I’m happy with the raiding unit’s performance,” Reddy said.
Though their defence scored more points than the opponent's defence, they made far too many mistakes which gave momentum to the raiders of UP Yoddha. Their defence conceded three multi-point raids in the first half itself which helped them gain an edge.
“The defenders that were successfully scoring points earlier in the campaign are struggling to replicate that. That has been our downfall,” Reddy said when asked about the cause of loss in the form of the team.
As this loss resulted in them getting out of the top 6, they will have to win most of their upcoming matches to be assured of a berth in the play-offs.Â
“Every game is a do-or-die situation for us. We have to win all of our games to qualify for the playoffs,” Reddy signed off.
