Patna coach rues defensive errors after another tie with Bengal

Super Sunday came to an end with Bengal Warriors securing a 37-37 tie against hosts Patna Pirates at the Harivansh Tana Bhagat Indoor Stadium at Ranchi. The high-scoring match saw as many as four Super 10 performances by Patna’s Pardeep Narwal and Monu Goyat, and Kolkata’s Maninder Singh and Deepak Narwal.

Trailing by 8 points with five minutes remaining on the clock, the Warriors once again this season displayed a superb comeback that shook Patna’s defence. At the post-match press conference, Patna coach Ram Mehar Singh assessed the second tie against Bengal this season.

“I just want to say that luck was in Bengal’s favour today. We had the lead but the team made some mistakes in the last minutes. The raiders of both the teams performed well but our defence made the same mistakes which happened in the last few matches. Having senior players in the team and yet not being able to perform means that luck isn’t favouring us. The entire match was in our hands but it slipped in the end,” he said.

 “If the defence could have performed 50 percent as compared to the raiders, we would have won the match by 15 points. In the last few minutes, their [Bengal Warriors] defence came forth strongly and I think, we started losing our focus because we had the lead,” he added.

Kolkata coach Jagdish Kumble, meanwhile, was pleased as punch as his team continued to sit atop Zone B following the tie. “The opposition team was strong so it was not going to be easy for us. At the start, our team made some mistakes but we have a capability to come back and that’s what we did tonight. Maninder [Singh] and Deepak [Narwal] got points towards the end as well as Surjeet [Singh] in defence. We always had the confidence that we will come back into the game,” he said.

After returning to action from an injury layoff, the Warriors’ Deepak Narwal stamped his authority as a substitute. His inclusion came as a surprise to the Patna camp. “We didn’t expect Deepak Narwal because he was injured and didn’t play the last few matches. We had plans for Maninder [Singh] and Jang Kun Lee which were successful to an extent but our defence made mistakes which they shouldn’t have had. Our plan was not to give away bonus points but it didn’t happen,” Ram Mehar Singh said.

In the other match of the day, Jaipur Pink Panthers scored a comprehensive victory (36-25) over Dabang Delhi K.C. After Manjeet Chhillar’s return from injury recently, Jaipur have looked like a different side with renewed confidence. Coach Balwan Singh was a happy man. “Yes, I am happy having won the match. Every team comes to win but our team performed well in all the departments. Before the match the team told me not to take any pressure and that they will win the match. So, I was confident as my team was confident,” he said.