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The second day of the Lucknow leg in the Pro Kabaddi Season 5 was again disappointing for the UP Yoddha as they lost to the Haryana Steelers in an enthralling encounter. It was a very close fight as the score in the last few minutes was tied at 29 points for both the teams but in the end, a late surge from the Steelers saw them inflict an all-out and take home the match 36-29.
All teams have performed poorly in their home ground except Gujarat and we see this continuing in Lucknow too. UP Yoddha captain Nitin Tomar seemed pretty stressed and under pressure after the loss. His performance in the match showed nervousness as he was seen managing both raiding and defense for his team.
UP's defense was going along well and continued to dominate till the very end, but still they had to bite the dust. It was just a bad day for the Yoddha but not a bad game.
The coach also admitted that they lost because the team got under pressure and missed a few points. "Our agenda was to win, but Rishank's catch towards the end came as bad luck for the team," said Uday Kumar, coach of the UP Yoddha. He added, "Our planning should have been to play better in the do-or-die situations, which ultimately cost us."
The coach said that even though the Telugu Titans are back in form, his side will leave no stone unturned to win the upcoming matches against Jaipur and Hyderabad. Changes in the team might be made if needed for a better performance.
On the other hand, Haryana Steelers win was completely down to their phenomenal defense. Their coach, Ranbir Khokhar said, "The team's planning worked in our favour today and we also took advantage of the clearly visible pressure on the opponents faces."
Surender Nada and Vikas Kandola emerged as key players behind the team's win. Mohit Chhillar's late surge towards the end was commended both by the captain and the coach.
Nada stole the show as the coach was all praises for the captain's flattering performance. The captain appreciated the good work done by the raiders too. Some of the referee's decisions were evidently not much liked by the Steelers, but they chose not to talk about it.
It will be interesting to see if the Haryana Steelers show improvement in their raiding department as well, given that they will face Dabang Delhi, who have a strong defense, in their upcoming match of the Lucknow leg.
