We won mainly because of Rahul: Bhaskaran

Thalaivas, which trailed 10-19 at half-time, scripted one of the best comebacks in PKL history at the Pataliputra Indoor Stadium in Patna. It eventually won by a scoreline of 35-28 courtesy Man of the Match Rahul’s fantastic tally of 14 points.

“It was mainly because of him that we were able to win. Otherwise, it would have been very difficult to overcome a nine-point deficit. The players showed great control towards the end. We were able to get the second all-out, which took the game away from Haryana. However, we will have to be more careful in the opening period of our coming games,” Bhaskaran told reporters.

Even though Shabeer Bappu, TT’s third raider in the starting seven, was present on the mat, all-rounder Ran Singh was instructed to go for a raid at a crucial juncture. That move worked well for Thalaivas as he got a touch point, reviving Rahul. On what prompted him to send Ran, Bhaskaran responded, “When a player does not deliver on the mat, it becomes tough. In such a situation, another member has to step up. He was our fourth raider (behind the main three), we wanted to avoid an all-out.”

TT took the lead for the first time only in the 33rd minute. Until then, it had to battle hard to erase a fair chunk of deficit. Asked what the strategy was when the team was trailing, Rahul explained, “Our defence was a little confused in the first half. It took a while for it to get settled. Till that point, only the raiders were scoring. Had we defended better, we would have had the advantage right from the start. The plan in the second half was to strengthen the defence and it delivered by picking up tackle points. The raiders too came to the fore and we were able to forge a good combination.”

Thalaivas is currently placed seventh in the standings with 12 points from four contests and next plays UP Yoddha (10th on the table) on Wednesday.