Pro Kabaddi League 2018: “We are eyeing the No. 1 position in Group B,” says Bengal Warriors coach

A commanding 39-23 victory over the three-time defending champions Patna Pirates at the Pro Kabaddi League 2018 in Kolkata was a good enough reason for the Bengal Warriors to feel confident. And that thunderous win, which was delivered on a night where their attack and defence both worked in tandem, also ensured that they officially qualified for the playoffs from Group B.

Coach Jagdish Kumble thus couldn’t stop beaming while expressing his thoughts on his wards’ performance. He admitted that it was indeed a tough assignment for them and it was their sheer hunger and all-round display that helped them sail through.

“We knew we had a tough encounter today and qualifying depended on today’s match as well. A win today would boost our confidence by miles. Our defence was solid today and the raiders too worked in tandem. We had all the momentum in today’s encounter which helped fetch us the win.”

Patna's Pardeep Narwal was a pale shadow of himself. At no point in the match was the Dubki King able to inflict damage on the Bengal defenders, with the latter looking solid and impenetrable. Pardeep was ultimately tackled five times which was the biggest cause of the Pirates’downfall.

Star raider Maninder Singh attributed it to perfect planning they had right before the match.

“The last time we played the Pirates, it didn’t turn out well for us as they won emphatically. So we had planned meticulously for today’s match.”

Star defender Ran Singh was very happy that the raiders did their job efficiently. Heaping praise on Maninder, who scored 11 points on the night, he also lauded Jang Kun Lee’s efforts.

“The entire team played like one unit. Maninder regularly does well and Lee supported him very well today. So the match became a one-sided victory for us.”

The obvious question then was if the Bengal Warriors were eyeing the No. 1 position in Group B. They have now overtaken the Pirates to the second spot and are right behind the Bengaluru Bulls. With the advantage of having their home leg going on currently, the Bengal franchise had four more matches left.

The coach made it clear -- they were aiming for nothing less than the top position and would leave no stone unturned in achieving that.

“Yes, we are eyeing the No. 1 position in Group B. We lost our last match to Delhi in the Interzone clash but this time we are going to sort out our plans for Delhi carefully to get the win.”