Bengaluru, Dec 27 (IANS): The Haryana Steelers will be raring to bounce back after going down 38-40 against the Jaipur Pink Panthers on Saturday as they prepare to take on Telugu Titans in their third match of Pro Kabaddi League Season 8 here on Tuesday.

Haryana's All-Rounder Rohit Gulia expressed that the team will have to find a way to hold on to their lead in the upcoming games, "We are playing well as a team, but it's just that we are not able to defend well sometimes. We have to improve on the way we deal with raiders from the opposition side. And when we attain the lead in any game, we have to find a way to hold on to our lead. By hanging on to our lead, we can put pressure on our opponents."

Gulia added that the confidence is high within the group and the team is working on the mistakes they have made in their first two matches of the season against Patna Pirates and Jaipur Pink Panthers respectively, "We have also given a lot of lead in the matches and then we were not able to recover after that. If we put our opponents under pressure, then there is a chance that they will also make errors. We have been carrying out All-Outs and attaining the lead, but then we have to hold on to the lead as well. The confidence is still high in the group. We have lost two matches, but there are a lot of matches to play for. We can't fret too much about our first two matches and we have to focus on our upcoming matches. We will work on the mistakes we have made in the last two games."

Asked about which player in the Telugu Titans can make a big difference in any match, Gulia said, "All players are good in the Pro Kabaddi League, however, there are some main players in each team. We have to defend well against Telugu Titans' raider Siddharth Desai in our next match. If we can keep him quiet, then we will have a good grip on the match. It's very important for us to play against him."

Gulia, who has scored 17 raid points this season, said that he is happy with his personal performance so far, "I have played well in the tournament, but we are all more concerned about the team's performance. If I play well and the team loses, then the performance doesn't matter. The most important thing is that the team should win and that's our number one priority. Hopefully, the entire team will play well in the next match."