PKL 10: Our team underperformed throughout season, admits Bengaluru Bulls captain Saurabh Nandal

The Dabangs finished the league stage with a win.

Dabang Delhi K.C. beat Bengaluru Bulls by 46-38 at the Tau Devilal Indoor Stadium in Panchkula on 18 February 2024 to wrap up the league stage of the Pro Kabaddi League season 10 (PKL 10) in style. The outfit is already in the playoffs and made short work of the Bulls who conceded their third defeat in a row.

Ashu Malik (17) was the star performer for the Dabang Delhi K.C. while Sushil (11) did his best to keep the Bengaluru Bulls with a chance to win. The mood in the press conference after the match was good in the Dabang Delhi camp. On the other hand, only Saurabh Nandal decided to show up for the Bulls and answer the grueling questions following a convincing defeat.

Here are the excerpts from the conversation: 

Saurabh Nandal on the turning point

Speaking about the crucial moments which changed the tides of the match, he said, “In the early stages of the game, our defence made some mistakes and got All Out but when it started performing well, our raiders got super tackled on multiple instances. We could not reduce the lead then and later gave away many bonus points which changed the complexion of the match.”

Underperformed on all fronts

The defender was honest in his assessment of the season and said, “We could have performed better during the season. My performance was not up to the mark either. Then, raiders who were starting to perform, like Sachin and Neeraj, got injured. Our defence and raiders underperformed too which led to inconsistency during the term.”

Rambir Singh Khokhar on the team’s performance

The Dabang Delhi K.C. head coach summarised, “Our team started well. They did sensationally in the first seven or eight minutes despite making a few mistakes. Then, Ashu (Malik) covered and eventually, it was a comfortable win for us. We are already in the playoffs so there was pressure to avoid any untoward injuries to our players. We made a few changes to the squad and our experiments turned out to be successful.”

Preparing for the playoffs

Dabang Delhi’s star raider, Ashu Malik, indicated that the side is already looking forward to preparing for the challenges ahead. He said, “It is a good outcome to win the last game of the league. Now, we will be preparing for the playoffs. There is a rest for one day and then the preparations for the crucial playoffs will begin right after.”

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