Hyderabad, 2 November (Hindustan Reporter). U Mumba pulled off a thrilling 39-37 win over Jaipur Pink Panthers in their PKL 11 encounter at the GMCB Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday, October 31. After the resounding win, head coach Gholamreza Mazandarani highlighted his team's strategic approach.
Highlighting his team's strategic approach during the post-match press conference, Mazandrani said, “I maintain a positive attitude not only when winning, but regardless of the results. For this match, we had a specific strategy to maximize our difference. While our defense played well, we made some small mistakes that can be fixed. Overall, I am pleased with the talent on display.”
The Irani coach's confidence in his young team was evident, as Ajit Chauhan led the scoring charts with 14 points.
“We make sure every player gets an opportunity during practice,” Mazandrani said. “We have some very young players, and when they perform well, they get more opportunities to play.”
Captain Sunil Kumar said, “We made a great start with the defense – Rinku got three tackle points early on. Sombir and Parvesh made no mistakes, Rohit Raghav's super raid proved crucial in securing the win.”
Notable contributions to the win came from Rinku and Amirmohammed Zafardanesh, who added 4 points each, while Jaipur's Neeraj Narwal scored 12 points despite the loss.
Talking about the upcoming 'Maha Maharashtra' derby against Puneri Paltan, Mazandarani said, “We give equal importance to all the matches – no match is easy. Puneri has a strong, young team that has had a good record over the last few seasons, we are also a capable team and will compete hard.”Ý