PKL 11: Good to realise mistakes early, says U Mumba captain Sunil Kumar

Delhi emerged victorious by a 36-28 scoreline against the U Mumba.

Dabang Delhi K.C. kicked off their PKL 11 journey in style, securing a commanding 36-28 victory over U Mumba. Spearheaded by a stellar performance from Ashu Malik, Delhi held their nerve in a thrilling contest to claim their first win of the season. Speaking to the media following the game, Delhi co-captain Naveen Kumar and Joginder Narwal and U Mumba duo Sunil Kumar and Gholamreza Mazandarani shared their views on their first PKL 11 match.

Here are the excerpts:

On the loss

Right from the first whistle, both Dabang Delhi K.C. and U Mumba were locked in an evenly contested battle, with neither side able to establish a clear advantage in the opening minutes. Ashu Malik led the charge for Delhi, while Ajit Chavan kept U Mumba in the hunt with crucial points.

However, midway through the first half, Ashu Malik delivered a game-changing moment by inflicting an ALL-OUT on U Mumba, helping Delhi carve out a 4-point lead. From that point on, Delhi maintained control, preventing U Mumba from closing the gap. At halftime, Dabang Delhi K.C. led 19-15, with Ashu Malik already racking up 6 points.

“When the match started, the raiders did well but the defence could not. Later at times, the defence did well and the raider could not. The combination was just not clicking for us”, said captain Sunil Kumar reflecting on their Pro Kabaddi League season 11 opener.

“But it is just the start of the season, we have many more matches to go. It is good to realise our mistakes early and work more on them as we come for the next game”, he added.

Watch the full PC here:

On the missing combinations

The second half saw Delhi continue to build on their lead, with Ashu Malik picking up points effortlessly. But U Mumba refused to back down. Midway through the half, Ajit Chavan completed his Super 10, keeping his side in contention with solid support from Amirmohammad Zafardanesh.

As the clock ticked down to the final 10 minutes, Delhi held a 6-point lead. U Mumba, however, showed resilience, with Zafardanesh stepping up in both raiding and defence, as they chipped away at the deficit.

“This was our first match. I feel we were a little unlucky as well. It was a little problem for all the combinations but we have more matches to come where we can do better”, said coach Gholamreza Mazandarani on starting PKL 11 with a loss.

Adding to the note the boss added that the team missed the prowess of Guman Singh who had joined Gujarat Giants ahead of PKL 11.

“Well, we did miss him. Ajit played in his position, he wasn’t too bad. U Mumba is the place for young players and I believe as the season progresses we will click,” added the coach.

On winning the PKL 11 opening game

Despite U Mumba’s valiant effort, it wasn’t enough to overturn Delhi’s advantage. Ashu Malik’s composed performance saw him register his first Super 10 of the season, sealing a well-earned victory for Dabang Delhi K.C. Amirmohammad Zafardanesh was U Mumba’s standout performer with 11 points, while Ajit Chavan added 10, but it was Dabang Delhi who walked away with the win.

“The team played very well, our opponents were very good and they played very well but our team was pretty good so it feels very good”, said coach Joginder Narwal.

“It felt very good to win the game. All we want now is to work on our mistakes and make sure we do not repeat them later. I am happy that the new players are playing very well, nothing feels better than seeing your team win”, said co-captain Naveen Kumar.

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