Not allowing bonus was main reason for victory, says Sunil Kumar

Bengal Warriors head coach Kasinatha Baskaran believes his game plan failed.

Jaipur Pink Panthers impressed everyone on Day 11 of the Pro Kabaddi League PKL 9 after beating the Kasinatha Baskaran's Bengal Warriors by a huge margin of 15 points. The final scores were 39-24 in favour of the Panthers. While Sunil Kumar played an important role in the defence, Arjun Deshwal scored a fantastic Super 10 to win the game for his team.

Let’s take a quick glance at what Upendra Kumar and Sunil Kumar said during the post-match press conference. K. Baskaran and Maninder Singh, too, shared their experiences of the game. Here it is:

Jaipur Pink Panthers: Assistant Coach Upendra Kumar and Captain Sunil Kumar

What was the primary reason behind this victory?

Jaipur Pink Panthers were outstanding against the Bengal Warriors, and this victory has taken them to the second spot on the PKL 9 points table. On being asked about the reason behind this victory, assistant coach Upendra Kumar said, "Bengal Warriors are an excellent side and have been winning consistently. But, due to Sunil and Ankush’s impressive defending, the Warriors couldn’t execute their strategies. Skipper Sunil Kumar was on the mat almost throughout the game, which was a big positive for us. His decision of sending which raider and what time proved to be successful, which became the reason for our glorious victory."

What was the strategy that was made which did not allow Maninder and Deepak to play freely?

Sunil Kumar straightaway explained the main strategy they made before the game. He said, "Coaches already told us that the Bengal Warriors’ players are good at taking bonus points. So, we executed our plans accordingly by not allowing them to take bonus points. This made them go for touch points and we grabbed them on most of the occasions."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MAieMRdUu8

Bengal Warriors: Coach Kasinatha Baskaran and Captain Maninder Singh

Where do you think the game went wrong?

Kasinatha Baskaran, the coach of Bengal Warriors, believed that players did not make mistakes in the match, in fact, the game plan failed. He said, "Our game plan failed badly. None of the plans worked out for us. We tried substitutes as well, but that too did not work. There was a clear misunderstanding seen in the game from our side, but we will work on this in our next games."

On the other hand, Maninder Singh criticised his raiders for this loss. The captain of the Bengal Warriors said, "We had our plans for this game, but they were a better side today and did not let us execute our plans. I believe the raiders let us down today."

What are your thoughts on your next game against Puneri Paltan?

Bengal Warriors are set to take on Puneri Paltan in their next match. On this, skipper Maninder said, "Puneri Paltan is an excellent side, especially after the inclusion of Fazel Atrachali and Aslam Inamdar now. We are also no less and will give our best in the next match and try to win it."