Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], September 17 : Bengal Warriorz roared back to form in the Pro Kabaddi League Season 12 with a hard-fought 41-36 victory over UP Yoddhas in Jaipur on Tuesday.
The Warriorz showed immense grit and determination after falling behind early in the contest, as they slowly clawed their way back through disciplined defending and consistent raiding before sealing the crucial win, a PKL release said.
Captain Devank Dalal, who led the side from the front once again, claiming his sixth-consecutive Super 10 of the season, credited the turnaround to sticking to the coach's strategy.
"After we went behind early in the match, the coach told us to keep the game close and we would get the chance to go ahead, so we stuck to the plan and won the match," he said. Confident about the team's potential going forward, he added, "With the way the team has performed and supported each other in this match, especially our defence department, this win proves the immense talent in our team and that we can challenge any side. Ours is a young squad and the combinations are now settling in. We will try our best to stick to this approach."
Defence captain Nitesh Kumar was delighted with the balanced performance across departments and echoed the sentiment when he said, "This win is going to be very motivating for us since both our defenders and raiders have worked together and have performed well. After losing the last few matches, with today's performance, we feel our team is now taking shape."
Head Coach Naveen Kumar acknowledged the pressure the team had been under after recent defeats but praised his players' determination.
"I won't deny it, after the last few losses, our team was under some pressure but we continued to train relentlessly, work on our mistakes and channeled that pressure into motivation which helped us on the mat today," he explained. Speaking about the game itself, the coach added, "the idea was to keep the game close and grab the chances whenever they come and it worked for us."