Pawan Kumar Sehrawat: Rohit Kumar’s support has helped me a lot

Bengaluru Bulls edged out Patna Pirates in a thriller of a contest by a scoreline of 43-41 at the Patliputra Indoor Stadium in Patna on Wednesday. In the post-match press conference, coach Randhir Singh, captain Rohit Kumar and raider Pawan Kumar Sehrawat represented Bengaluru Bulls and Patna Pirates were represented by coach Ram Mehar Singh and captain Pardeep Narwal.

Bengaluru Bulls

Q. Was it a game of nerves at the end?

Randhir Singh: Yes. I felt we were in control of the match right till the end. But that technical point and yellow card on Rohit Kumar resulted in an easy bonus with just five men on the mat, and made life really tough for us at that point. But we are glad we executed our final two plays to perfection.

Q. Did playing with Pardeep Narwal help plan against him today?

Rohit Kumar: Everyone knows his game and he’s fantastic. Everyone knows my game as well so it’s not really a big edge. Some days you win close games and some days you lose. We’re glad to come out on top today.

Q. What are your thoughts on your season so far?

Pawan Sehrawat: I’m glad I’m doing well. Rohit bhai is really helping me by always talking to me and supporting me on the mat. He encourages me to do the bulk of the raiding and it really gives me confidence when the captain trusts me as much as Rohit does.

Q. Any thoughts on your raiding trio?

Rohit Kumar: This was probably the only thing we lacked last season. Me, Pawan and Kashiling Adake are sharing the burden amongst ourselves and it really helps when there are two quality raiders backing you up on the mat. It enables me to rest and gather myself.

Q. Any concerns going into the game against U.P. Yoddha?

Randhir Singh: The defence can play better. If you assess our wins so far, our offence has carried us to victory. Our defence can do much better and we’ll ensure we work on that before the next match.

Patna Pirates                                                                                          

Q. Where did it go wrong today?

Ram Mehar Singh: The five-point raid that we gave up where we could have earned a Super Tackle was where it really went wrong. We fell behind on the scoreboard and were always chasing the game. We did well to take it to the last raid.

Q. Any thoughts on Manjeet?

Ram Mehar Singh: I’m very pleased with his contribution. He’s a young kid, playing in his first season and has been outstanding so far. His performances really fill me with pride.

Q. Any thoughts on Pawan Sehrawat?

Ram Mehar Singh: It is always good to see new talent do well, and it has been really pleasing to see Pawan do well. It’s great for the nation and great for the fans as well.