Ajay Thakur believes team’s experience made the difference against Gujarat Fortunegiants

Tamil Thalaivas defeated Gujarat Fortunegiants 34-28 on the back of some strong performances by captain Ajay Thakur and Corner Mohit Chhillar, who registered his first High 5 of the season. Thakur and coach Edacherry Bhaskaran addressed the media on behalf of Tamil Thalaivas at the post-match press conference.

Tamil Thalaivas

Q. What was the instruction to the players when Gujarat Fortunegiants had the lead in the second half?

Edacherry Bhaskaran: The only thing I told my players was that today is our day. All our players were at the top of their game today. It was very unlikely that we would lose the match from such a situation. We knew that this win was important for us. Ajay Thakur went and got us the points at the right time.

Q. Ajay, you are known for turning matches around in the last minute. What is the secret behind that?

Ajay Thakur: We have an experienced team which knows what is to be done when. This experience is what makes the difference according to me.  I think experienced players manage to remain calm and don’t rush themselves in pressure situations. That is the only difference.

Q. Had you expected the match to go down to the wire?

Edacherry Bhaskaran: As you can see, every team is playing well this season. No one can predict which team will stage a come back at any time. You never know when there will be a turning point in the match. Gujarat Fortunegiants is one of the best teams in the league currently. But our team is no less. We were expecting a neck-and-neck fight. We were mentally prepared to face any challenge today and that is what worked for us.