PKL 2019 | Defence helped us come back into the match, states Srinivas Reddy
PKL
After their first home game ended in a tie against Gujarat, Jaipur coach Srinivas Reddy has said that even though the defence did make some mistakes, they were the ones who helped them come back. Jaipur haven't been able to break the six-match streak and still remain at the seventh position.
Jaipur Pink Panthers started strong as their defence, and to some extent, even raiding department was doing well. They were able to inflict an all-out 12 minutes into the match and also gain a lead of six points. Jaipur were up by nine points at one point but by the end of the first half, it was down to five points. In the second, Jaipur were reduced to three or less players on many occasions but their defenders successfully avoided all-out by inflicting five super tackles.
“Our defenders went for some advanced tackles in the second half but the same defence also helped us come back into the match. There was a point where we were on the verge of losing the match. But our defenders managed tackles with only two of them on the mat, multiple times, which is good to see,” coach Srinivas Reddy said in the post-match press conference.
Vishal was the highest scorer for the Panthers as he scored nine points in seven tackle attempts which include three super tackles. Jaipur almost had the game in their bag after their last super tackle when Vishal tackled Rohit Gulia and hence Jaipur were in the lead by a point. As there was only time for one raid, Gujarat decided to play on the baulk line and all Nitin Rawal had to do was cross it to make the raid validate but he was tackled by Parvesh Bhainswal.
“In kabaddi, it is not that only a good player can cross the baulk or bonus line all the time and the rest will always be unable to. Some things are dictated by the situation. It was a desperate situation for them so they had to play that line. This situation arises many times and playing a baulk line defence is one of the strategies of the game. That is what they did. Today, luck favoured them so they were successful or else we could easily have gotten three points and won the match,” Reddy explained.
Though the win did give them three points, Jaipur still remain at the seventh position in so they will look forward to win their remaining three home matches to re-enter the Top 6 on the table.
“I am happy that we managed to get three points out of this contest. These three points mean a lot in the race for the playoffs. I am happy with this result. We will only start planning for the coming matches later at night. Right now is not the time to start thinking ahead immediately,” Reddy said when asked for the team’s strategy going forward.
