Pro Kabaddi League 2017 Season 5: Patna Pirates coach slams Vishal Mane and Sachin Shingade
Saturday was another night when Pardeep Narwal was let down by his defenders. It's become a trend now. In the Patna Pirates' latest Pro Kabaddi League encounter, Narwal managed to score a double super 10 (21 points). However, his efforts proved to be in vain as they suffered a surprising defeat at the hands of Anup Kumar's confident U Mumba outfit.
Post the game, Patna's coach, Ram Mehar Singh was extremely annoyed with his defenders, especially Vishal Mane. He reckons experienced campaigners like Mane cannot afford to perform so badly.
"I always knew Pardeep would do his job till the end but our defence was very weak. We didn't expect U Mumba's raiders to score so many points."
"Our main defender, Vishal Mane couldn't execute even one tackle. His performance was zero, I would give him minus points. I'll also give Sachin Shindage minus points," he stated.
Saturday was not the first time that Pardeep has scored 20 points or more in a single match. Off late, he's set new standards in terms of what is expected from a raider.
While most attackers seem ecstatic with a super 10, Narwal seems adamant on scoring 20 points every game. Coach, Mehar Singh believes Pardeep can even score 50 points in a single match.
"Impossible is nothing because if Pardeep continues this, without getting tackled, his aim is always to get a bonus plus touch point. So everything is possible," he said.
"When senior defenders have such negative performances, what can our raiders possibly do? When Pardeep scores one point, our defenders concede two in the next. How much can he do?"
The coach sarcastically explained why Patna ended up on the losing side. He took aim at his defenders for refusing to defend well despite their star man, Narwal firing on all cylinders.
The likes of Vishal Mane and Sachin Shingade, both couldn't score a single tackle point. As a result, U Mumbai's raiders made merry of the situation and kept chipping away with vital points at regular intervals.
"Normally when Pardeep scores so many points, the team 99% wins. But today it seemed like our defenders told Pardeep that even if you score 40 points, we won't let you win. How can we win then?"
Patna Pirates will next play against familiar opponents, Telugu Titans on 15th September in their home town of Ranchi. One can expect fireworks between two of the world's best raiders - Pardeep and Rahul Chaudhari.