'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
In Patna Pirates’ 41-46 loss to UP Yoddha on Thursday - their only loss of their home leg in Ranchi - Pardeep Narwal scored a whopping 13 points. But most of those raid points came in the second half.
It was a much quieter beginning for the star raider in the first half which saw the defending champions trailing by a huge 14-point margin at one stage.
After the match, Patna Pirates coach Ram Mehar Singh shed some light on why Pardeep was not his usual self in the first half, and it’s a serious reason.
“The main reason for our defeat is that the defence conceded points. Pardeep was not fully focused initially. He had hurt his injured head in yesterday’s match and the stitches came off. We were in doubt if we should even put him on the mat or not. His mind too was initially on that," Singh said.
Trending
"We could not afford to have Pardeep aggravate his injury for the third time,” he added.
Elaborating on where his team went wrong, Singh said, “Sachin gave away important points in defence. Also, if Monu Goyat could get a Super 10, our team could have won tonight.”
Singh also hinted that they might rest their dependable raiding duo of Pardeep Narwal and Monu Goyat after their only match in the Delhi leg, in order to give the youngsters a chance.
Meanwhile, UP Yoddha coach J Udaya Kumar said that they had planned for the match in such a way that ensured captain Nitin Tomar and raider Rishank Devadiga were always focused on the do-or-die raids. They had studied Patna Pirates closely after their last match, which they lost from a winning position. So this was a very important encounter for the Lucknow team and they needed the defenders to support their main raiders, which they successfully did on Thursday night.
“This was a crucial match for us. We had studied their last 3-4 matches after our loss. We had in mind that five players will be playing while Nitin and Rishank’s responsibility will be to concentrate only on the do-or-die raids," Kumar said.
"The defence needed to support the raiders thoroughly. That was the aim for us,” he added.
