U Mumba secured their first win over Gujarat Fortunegiants in six attempts as their defence led the way at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex in Delhi on Sunday. Representing U Mumba at the post-match press conference were captain Fazel Atrachali, coach Gholamreza Mahmoud Mazandarani and Dharmaraj Cheralathan. Taking questions for Gujarat Fortunegiants were captain Sunil Kumar and coach Manpreet Singh.

U Mumba

Q: What do you have to say about the victory today?

Gholamreza Mahmoud Mazandarani: Yesterday we made a few mistakes in defence, but today everything went perfectly. We followed our plans. All the players fought today and played very well.

Q: Any comments about today’s defence?

Dharmaraj Cheralathan: In our first two matches against Gujarat Fortunegiants, we weren’t able to control the game and lost despite having the lead in both games. Hence, it was important for us to remain alert today and control the game till the end. We were able to do that perfectly and win today’s game.

Gujarat Fortunegiants

Q: What do you have to say about the game today?

Manpreet Singh: This season has witnessed a lot of instances where two good teams play, and the match goes down to the wire until there’s a moment of magic from either team. We had won our previous five games against them. U Mumba are a very good side and played like a champion side today. All three encounters this season have been close. Their defence was better than ours today and it showed in the result.

Q: You had an opportunity to inflict an All-Out on U Mumba towards the end of the game. This could have turned the game around. Do you believe you couldn’t get it right at that instant?

Manpreet Singh: Had Sachin been able to get a point then, the match would have been close and any team could have won. A raider will get you points but he will also get tackled. You cannot fault him always. Luck wasn’t on our side today in what was an excellent game played by both teams. The turning points of the game weren’t in our favour.

Q: Where do you think it went wrong today?

Sunil Kumar: We were not able to completely follow our strategy today. Our defence lacked the usual bite and Sachin was struggling to get points as well. It was a brilliant game, but we couldn’t win today.

Q: How do you view this loss going ahead?

Manpreet Singh: I tell the boys that every day is a new day. You have to continue working like you have been. Winning and losing is part and parcel of the game. No team can win all 22 games. The important part is how you treat the team after a loss.