PKL 2019 | Missed presence of our captain in the match, admits Rakesh Kumar
After their loss against Bengal Warriors, Haryana Steelers coach Rakesh Kumar has said that they missed the experience of skipper Dharmaraj Cheralathan on the mat during the game last evening. Despite the loss against the Kolkata team, Haryana are at the third position with 10 wins in 16 matches.
If one looks from a bit different point-of-view then Haryana Steelers did better than expected in the second half. Having conceded three all-out and lagging behind by 19 points, they managed to close the deficit to 12 by the end of the game. They missed their experienced skipper on the mat who is able to control not only the defence but also point the raiders in a particular direction when the game is on.
“Absolutely! We missed the presence of our captain in this match. He keeps the team in control, no matter how he plays. We kept charging in for advance tackles after advance tackles… There was no one to lead the team that’s why we kept committing mistakes. The team did play better in the second half. But once the match washes off your hands, it’s done,” coach Rakesh Kumar said in the post-match press conference.
As it happened with Haryana, most of this season if Vikas Kandola missed a Super 10 then they are more likely to lose. Kandola scored nine points but also got tackled seven times which didn’t help the team much. Though a positive to take from the raiding unit was youngster Vinay’s performance who was the highest scorer for them with 14 points in 16 raid attempts.
“Yes, the raiders did play well. The defence erred though. And they were such that we couldn’t make up for it. We didn’t time our tackles well as per our plan and we instead resorted to advance tackles, which didn’t work out for us,” Rakesh explained.
Speaking about Cheralathan missing out on the game, the coach stated, “He has a minor injury, so I rested him. And we have our home leg remaining, so we didn’t want to take any risks. We want him to be back soon.”
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