Patna Pirates returned to the mat after nine days when they won their 12th match of the season against Tamil Thailavas 52-24 on January 28.
The Pirates won the game quite comprehensively in the end. Their defence got the maximum number of points it has ever achieved in a single game.
After the game, their head coach Ram Mehar Singh said in an interaction with the media that there was a tense atmosphere in the team before the game.
“There was stress and pressure on us because of this long break. I was tense from the last 2-3 days about how the team would perform, but today the team did well.
We pray to god and also appeal to our fans to pray that we play well and continue this good run in the tournament,”
he said.
Singh further added that the break could have had a negative impact on the team, but it didn’t happen as the players utilised the break to get good rest and played their A game after the comeback.
He also praised his captain Prashant Kumar Rai:
“Prashant has all the skills of a good captain, his game sense and maturity on the mat helps the team a lot on the mat, he is proving to be a good leader for us.”
Rai, in turn, was all praise for the defence:
“I’m glad with the performance of our defence, 3 of our defenders got high 5s, all of us played like a unit, we hope to continue this momentum going ahead.”
The skipper stressed on the point that the Pirates are doing well this season because both the defence and the offence is contributing to the win equally, and the team is learning from its mistakes from each game and trying to rectify it.
Patna right now sit quite comfortably in top two with 46 points, and they have played fewer games than the other teams who are in top 4 at the moment.
Singh’s men face the Jaipur Pink Panthers next on January 30. The Panthers had beaten the Pirates in their last game.
