We are happy with Jai Bhagwan, asserts Anil Chaprana

Tamil Thalaivas captain Sagar also spoke about losing the lead they had at half-time.

U Mumba posted a comfortable 39-32 victory against the Pawan Sehrawat-less Tamil Thalaivas in PKL 9. Narender, the young find of the season, excelled for the Thalaivas with 15 raid points. Guman got his first Super 10 for U Mumba, and Ashish shrugged off a poor start to Season 9 with nine raids and one tackle point. Jai Bhagwan was the talk of the town, seven raid points and one tackle point turned the game in U Mumba’s favour. Here are the post-match press-conference discussions.

U Mumba: Coach Anil Chaprana and captain Surinder Singh

Jai Bhagwan’s performance

Following a stellar outing, coach Anil Chaprana praised Jai Bhagwan’s ability to improve every match. He said, “Jai Bhagwan has kept upping his performance game after game. We are happy with him and wish to see him perform like this for the team."

On controlling the emotions of animated characters

U Mumba’s captain Surinder Singh has always been aggressive in organizing defences, with advanced tackles being a hallmark of his game. On asked how he controls the emotions of players like Surinder and Guman, the coach answered, “They are young and energetic. I instruct them to conserve their energy when the team needs them the most and this is how I have groomed them.”

What changed at half-time

The game was precariously balanced at half-time; Tamil Thalaivas lead 16-15. On what the strategy change was, Surinder answered, “We observed that they were putting in a lot of bonus point raids, so we instructed our raiders to do the same thing. We followed the coach’s advice. It is a long tournament; we need to keep our focus.”

https://youtu.be/EtGh6Uz4mBM

Tamil Thalaivas: Captain Sagar

Cover defenders not performing

It was a poor showing from Tamil Thalaivas’ cover defenders Mohit and Abishek, with just one point between them. Sagar said, “This was a one-off, from the next match we will train according to the opposition raiders and study their movements.”

Losing the half-time lead

The Thalaivas put in a brave fight in the first half, but U Mumba’s raiding might took them to victory. On being asked the reason for not holding onto the momentum, Sagar answered, “Our raiders were consistent, we fought till the end, but they had a big lead by then. It is important to carry forward the confidence we gained.”

Narender’s Super 10

Narender has gotten up to grips with the PKL and scored his second Super 10 in 3 matches. Sagar said, “Narender is a very good raider, and he moves around the court with good pace. He is young and energetic but also very skillful. He used the bonus well today.”

The Tamil Thalaivas will play Patna Pirates on Monday, U Mumba are back in action on Sunday and will play Puneri Paltan in PKL 9.