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The Puneri Paltan stopped the rot on Friday night when they held hosts Telugu Titans to a draw in their own backyard and were on the brink of a famous win until the Titans’ sharp piece of play pegged back the Paltan in the dying moments.
Puneri Paltan’s skipper led from the front racking up 11 raid points as his side showed plenty of grit and hunger to keep the Pune faithful believing in their side.
Speaking after the game, Wazir Singh expressed his delight at the performance dished out by his team, despite failing to hold on to a win and felt his side could win all the remaining six games, if they continued to play the way they did against the Telugu Titans.
The man from Haryana felt slight disappointment for not ending the game on the winning side, but he seemed to have taken heart from the performance. “We obviously came here to win and I felt we were really close today. We lost concentration at the crucial stage and that’s why we couldn’t win,” the Puneri Paltan skipper said.
Fresh after a week’s rest, Wazir seemed back to his best and on being asked what he had for lunch, the super raider was quick to point out to the support his side gave him throughout the game.
“It doesn’t matter what I ate. I am happy I was able to do well on the field and I am glad I was well supported by my team today”, said the Indian National Team regular.
“I am very satisfied with this kind of performance”
Pune’s manager Kailash Kandpal had spoken about Wazir’s added responsibility ahead of the game and the captain seemed to have taken his management’s orders very seriously. The Puneri Paltan seemed in control of the game, unlike previous games where they allowed games to drift away from them, a fact which specially delighted the skipper.
“We had a game plan and we stuck to right from the beginning. We made a very good start and never allowed them to dictate the play. I am very satisfied with this kind of performance and I am sure we can win all the remaining six games of our season if we play like this”, said a bullish Wazir Singh.
Only time will tell if Wazir Singh and co. can mount a miraculous recovery from here on, but what was on show on Friday night suggested that it might not be as farfetched a thought as it seems. When you have a player like Wazir Singh in your ranks, you never know.
