The Mumbai Rickets edged out the Bengaluru TopGuns 4-3 in the second match of the double-header on Tuesday in the Lucknow-leg of the 2016 Premier Badminton League.
Here’s how all the action unfolded:
1.Women’s Singles: Suo Di(BTG) vs Han Li(MR)
The opening game saw Di take the early lead and the stretch that advantage to 8-4 at the interval. The other side of the interval saw the Top Guns player continue to have the upper and she eventually clinched the opening game 15-9.
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The second game saw Han take the upper hand as she took a 4-2 early lead before stretching it to 8-4 at the break. The other side of the interval saw Di make a good comeback as she clinched 6 out of the next 10 points to close the gap to 2 and make it 10-12. But Han hung on to her lead and 3 out of the next 4 points to take the game 15-11 and take the match into a decider.
The decider started off on a keen note, but at the 3-3 mark, the tide started to shift in favour of Di, as she started to chip away with the points to eventually lead 8-4 at the break. The other side of the break saw the 22-year-old Top Guns player carry the momentum forward and eventually clinch the game 15-7 and give her side the upper hand.
Final Scoreline- Suo Di beat Han Li 15-9 11-15 15-7
2.Men’s Doubles: Vladimir Ivanov/Mathias Boe(MR) vs KhimWah Lim/ Hoon Thien How(BTG)[TrumpMatch called by MR]
It was the Top Guns pair who took the early advantage, taking a 4-2 lead before Ivanov and Boe fought back terrifically to first level the scores at 6-6 and then led 8-7 at the break. After the interval, they continued to hold the upper hand, chipping away with the points to further strengthen their position and eventually clinched the game 15-13.
The second game saw the Mumbai pair tighten their grip further as they took a 4-1 lead before heading into the break with an 8-5 advantage. The other side of the break saw the Mumbai pair carry the lead forward to eventually seal the game 15-11.
Final Scoreline- Vladimir Ivanov/Mathias Boe beat KhimWah Lim/ Hoon Thien How 15-13 15-11
3.Men’s Singles- RMV Gurusaidutt(MR) vs Anand Pawar(BTG)
It was Pawar who took the initial advantage in the match, taking a 2-1 lead, but Gurusaidutt fought back to equalise the scores at 3-3. At the mark, the 23-year-old started to assume control of proceedings clinching 5 out of the next 6 points to take an 8-4 lead at the interval.The other side of the break saw Gurusaidutt coast his way through the game to eventually seal it 15-7 and put Pawar under enormous pressure.
The second game saw Pawar lead 2-0before Gurusaidutt clinched three straight points to go 3-2 before taking an 8-4 lead at the interval, leaving Pawar a mountain to climb to stay alive. Pawar, though, didn't throw in the towel so early, winning 5 out of the next 6 points to equalise the scores at 9-9. It was a cat-and-mouse game after that as both players exchanged leads, but at the 13-13 mark, it was Gurusaidutt who held his nerve, clinching two points straight to win the game 15-13 and give their side a 3-1 lead.
Final Scoreline- RMV Gurusaidutt(MR) beat Anand Pawar(BTG) 15-7 15-13
4.Men’s Singles- HS Prannoy(MR) vs Kidambi Srikanth(BTG)[Trump Match called by BTG]
The opening game saw Srikanth take the upper hand as he took a 5-3 lead and then stretched that to 8-5 at the interval mark. The other side of the interval saw Srikanth further assume control of proceedings, chipping away with the points to seal the opening game 15-7
The second game saw Srikanth hold the upper hand as he took a 3-0 lead and then maintained it throughout to lead 8-3 at the interval mark. He then maintained that lead after the break as well and clinched the tie 15-8 to make it 3-3.
Final Scoreline- Kidambi Srikanth beat HS Prannoy 15-7 15-8
5.Mixed Doubles: Vladimir Ivanov/Liu Zi Diu (MR) vs Robert Blair/Ashwini Ponnappa(BTG)
The final contest of the day saw the Mumbai pair take the upper hand as they edged out the Bengaluru side 15-12 in the opening game to take a decisive lead in the contest. But the pair of Blair and Ponnappa came back strongly into the match, winning the second 15-11 to take the match into a decider.
The deciding rubber saw a keen contest in progress but it was the pair of Ivanov and Diu who took the game 15-9 and edged out the Top Guns in overall scheme of things.
