Victory against Patna Pirates a relief for us, says J Udaya Kumar

Tamil Thalaivas bagged their first victory of the season as they beat Patna Pirates in a thriller

Pawan-less Tamil Thalaivas finally got off to a good start this season as they won a close encounter against the Patna Pirates on Monday in PKL 9. With a margin of just one point, the Thalaivas held their nerves till the last moment and ended their victory drought. The Patna Pirates, on the other hand, are at the bottom now with no wins so far.

Let us take a look at what Sagar and Udaya Kumar & Ravi Shetty, and Neeraj said after their match:

Tamil Thalaivas: Coach J Udaya Kumar and Captain Sagar

How important was this victory?

It was Tamil Thalaivas' first victory of the PKL 9 season and the coach seemed happy after the game. J Udaya Kumar said, "It’s a big relief for us. We have been trying to put the team into the winning zone from few days. It’s good to win, but we are still making the same mistakes and are not satisfied. We were unable to handle the pressure after a big setback in the first match, which I believe was the reason for not winning the initial games. The defence has to be consistent for us to win the upcoming games."

What was the game plan towards the end of the battle?

Talking about the game plan, coach Udaya Kumar said, "We planned to maintain a score-level throughout the game by not experimenting much. We knew that we wouldn’t be able to handle too much pressure. That is why we started slow and maintained a certain score. Still, the mistakes were more than we thought. Credit goes to our substitute players who managed to handle the pressure at the crucial stage and won the game for us.

What was the strategy when the last two minutes were left?

At the last moment, Tamil Thalaivas snatched the game from Patna Pirates. On this, skipper Sagar said, "We gave Rohit Gulia a bonus point first and confirmed that he would come back for another raid. We gave him a chance to come deeper inside and that is when Ashish grabbed a tackle point, which we knew he could do."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9EzVW_6sX4

Patna Pirates: Coach Ravi Shetty and Captain Neeraj Kumar

What do you think happened in the last five minutes when you had a lead?

Even after being in the lead, Patna Pirates happened to lose the battle at the last minute in PKL 9. On this, Neeraj Kumar said, "Mistakes by the defence took the game away from us. That big mistake from Sunil was one of the major reasons behind this loss. Also, getting all-out at that crucial time was the biggest factor behind this defeat."

What is the reason behind the same mistakes in defence even after having the same department?

There have not been many changes in the line-up of the Patna Pirates. They have mostly played with the same seven, still unable to overcome the mistakes. On asking about the same, the skipper said, "We are regularly committing small mistakes. There have been moments where we could have been ahead in the points but kept on losing due to the same mistakes. We have taken unnecessary risks at times, which proved to be very costly in the end.