Jaipur, Sep 18 Mohit Chillar praised the Haryana Steelers’ defenders highly while commenting on their exciting 43-32 victory against three-time champions Patna Pirates on Wednesday in the ongoing Pro Kabaddi League Season 12.
Two matches were held at the SMS indoor stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday. While Haryana defeated Patna, Dabang Delhi K.C. edged out Telugu Titans 33-29 in another close contest.
“The defensive duo of Jaideep and Rahul Sethpal did a great job against Patna Pirates. In fact, the entire defence has been performing consistently. When I saw the starting seven before the game, I instantly noticed the absence of Rahul Ahri and wondered how they would perform without him. But Hardeep, Jaideep, and Rahul Sethpal all worked hard. Except for one corner defender, the entire unit was solid. I am proud to say that Haryana’s defenders have performed at an extremely high level, and this win is the result of their hard work,” Chillar said while speaking on JioStar.
Rishank Devadiga, meanwhile, analysed Patna Pirates’ struggles and said: “It was a very difficult outing for the Patna Pirates raiders. Early on, Haryana’s defence did not allow Ayan Lohchab to settle while raiding. The defenders studied him well and knew exactly how to stop him. He kept raiding in the same way repeatedly, and because of that, the defence overpowered him. He needed to bring variations, but failed. Ayan had four successful raids from 10 attempts, so it just wasn’t his day. The day belonged to Haryana’s defence; when the raiders entered, the defence gave them no chance to succeed.”
Despite the loss, Patna Pirates’ raider Milan Dahiya shone brightly after executing a brilliant raid against Haryana. Impressed by this, Devadiga added:
“It was truly an amazing raid. Milan Dahiya’s presence of mind was excellent. He knew he was near the mid-line and didn’t give up until the very end, determined to cross it. The struggle continued, and in kabaddi, you can’t release the raider until 30 seconds are over. Haryana Steelers’ defence made a mistake by assuming the tackle was complete. But Milan held on, crossed the line, and secured an incredible five points.”
Devadiga credited head coach Joginder Narwal for his daring auction selections and praised Neeraj Narwal’s performance.
“Joginder Narwal, the Head Coach of Dabang Delhi K.C., deserves all the plaudits because he went to the auction and put big bets on experienced players, be it Fazal Atrachali, Surjeet Singh or Saurabh Nandal. He showed faith in them and built a team around them, with such experienced players. We have seen many teams that couldn't do well despite the presence of highly experienced players, but Delhi is doing a great job. So, the coach has a big role in this. Ashu Malik couldn't do much due to his injury, but the other players who got a chance stepped up. Neeraj Narwal played as a lead raider and helped his side win this match with his own skills and raiding. The defence did a good job, but the raiders also performed well.”
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