Dabang Delhi has won 3 of its 5 games so far and all of them have been orchestrated by Ravinder Pahal’s exemplary defending. Against the Jaipur Pink Panthers too, his performance was consummate; inspiring the unit to fire all cylinders and list their first win against the defending champions.
With the opener being an aberration, last night, for the 4th game in a row that he was bestowed with the added responsibility of captaincy, and he shone brightest again, pulling off 8 tackles and ensuring that the Dabangs remained solid as a defensive unit throughout the game. It was only apt that he was presented with both the “Defender of the match” and “Man of the match” awards afterwards.
Reminiscing their super show from last night upon his team’s arrival here in Patna, Pahal said, “We defended really well, especially after the loss to Bengaluru (Bulls), it was really inspiring how the team performed as a unit. If we keep playing like this, I don’t see us losing often.”
About his own performance, he added, “I try my best every time I step on court. It’s just really heartening that things have been going according to plan this season and I have managed to do well. Also, all my teammates have really supported me, people like Amit (Singh), Avnish (Baliyan) and Jasmer (Gulia) have been tremendous too; they allow me to attack the opposition raider with gusto.”
Diminutive but mighty in stature, the defender has been Delhi’s trump card so far and as he mentioned if he continues in a similar vein, it would take a lot for any opposition to breach the wall that he guards.