Rahul Chaudhari: We gave Nilesh Salunke the freedom he needed

Telugu Titans earned their first win at home as they defeated Jaipur Pink Panthers 36-26 at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Vizag on Saturday. Representing the home side at the post-match press conference were captain Vishal Bhardwaj, assistant coach Sai Prasad and Rahul Chaudhari.

Telugu Titans

Q: How important was this game for you?

Rahul Chaudhari: The whole team played as one unit. In the first half, we had problems in our defence. However, they came back strongly in the second half and won us the game. If our defence would have performed the way they did today, we would have won many previous matches that we lost. The defence was very strong in the second half and that is the reason we won by the margin that we did.

Q: Any comments about Nilesh Salunke?

Rahul Chaudhari: In the first half, Nilesh Salunke was consistently getting us points. This was the reason he went in for more raids than I did. We gave him the freedom he needed to raid because he was getting us points. All the players gave their 100% and the team supported each other very well.

Q: Do you think your defence was back to its full force today?

Vishal Bhardwaj: In our previous game, we had a few uncharacteristic lapses in defence. We rectified our mistakes and were able to get the result we wanted today.

Q: Your thoughts on the game?

Sai Prasad: We want to continue this tempo in the future matches as well. The mistakes we made yesterday weren’t seen today. The offence and defence both played their part in today’s game. If we continue playing like this, I have no doubt that we will qualify for the Playoffs.