Deepak Hooda is a quality player, asserts Kasinatha Baskaran

Patna Pirates head coach Ravi Shetty explained the reason behind substituting one of his players.

Patna Pirates were at the receiving end of a 54-26 thrashing at the hands of Bengal Warriors in PKL 9. The Patna defence were in sixes and nines, while Bengal became the second team to cross the 50-point mark this season and had a chance to hand match experience to some new faces. The Warriors raiders posted 29 raid points in total, with three Super Raids. The defence managed 14 tackle points, double that of Patna’s tally. Here is the post-match press conference report.

Bengal Warriors: Coach Kasinatha Baskaran and captain Maninder Singh

How was such a big win achieved?

The Warriors flexed their muscles and even tested their bench after building an insurmountable lead. Maninder posted a Super 10, while Shrikant Jadhav had 9 raid points. Both Vaibhav Garje and Shubham Shinde excelled in defence with 4 points each. Coach Kasinatha Baskaran said, “We disturbed the opponent’s tactics. They have a good defence. We held the momentum well.”

Deepak Hooda’s off-colour performance

The ace all-rounder has been a silent performer so far and has not reached anywhere near the peak of his abilities this season. He had just two raid points to show. The coach Kasinatha Baskaran backed his ability and said, “Deepak Hooda is a quality player. He is a national team captain. Deepak puts some pressure on himself to score points. He will do well in the upcoming matches.”

Next opponent Jaipur Pink Panthers

Bengal Warriors will face Jaipur Pink Panthers in their next encounter in what promises to be a mouth-watering clash in PKL 9. On asked his opinion of the team, Maninder Singh said, “Jaipur are a very tough team to beat. Their raiders are going well and they have a reliable defence. The coach outlines a specific strategy for each player and we will plan based on that.”

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

Patna Pirates: Coach Ravi Shetty and captain Neeraj Kumar

What happened out there tonight?

Patna were blown apart and never looked like they had the fight in them to kick-start a comeback. Coach Ravi Shetty answered, “We had a chance to come back in the start, but the defence were not up to standards. Our left corner (Chiyaneh) has just arrived, and he will take some time to gel with the squad. We just gave away too many all-outs for my liking. I will analyse the problems in depth specifically in our defence and plot our recovery.”

Substituting Rohit Gulia

All-rounder Rohit Gulia has been a reliable source of points for the Pirates, but he was substituted late in the first half. Ravi Shetty reasoned, “According to the situation I made the change. Rohit Gulia was not able to move freely today and I saw that and made the change.”

Dependence on Sachin

Captain Neeraj Kumar downplayed notions that the Pirates are overly dependent on Sachin for their raid points. He said, “If Sachin is playing well that does not mean we are dependent on him. We start with three raiders every match and they know their roles.”

Patna Pirates will fancy themselves against the Tamil Thalaivas tomorrow, while Bengal Warriors take on Jaipur Pink Panthers on Tuesday in PKL 9.