The Chennai Smashers got their campaign off to a winning start, beating the Mumbai Smashers 4-3 at the NSCI Stadium in Mumbai in the second match of the double-header in the 2016 Premier Badminton League,
Here’s how all the action unfolded:
1.Mixed Doubles: Vladimir Ivanov/ Kamilla Juhl(MR) vs Chris Adcock/ Pia Zebadiah(CS)
It was the Chennai duo who started the match on a positive note taking a 4-3 lead and then stretched the advantage to 8-6 at the mid-game interval. They continued to extra significant pressure on the Mumbai duo and eventually clinched the tie 15-10.
The second game saw the Rockets take an early 2-1 lead and the stretched it to 4-3 before leading 8-4 at the break. It was one-way traffic after the interval as well as Ivanov and Juhl eventually sealed the game to take the match 15-7 and take the match into a decider.
The decider saw the Chennai pair take an early 4-2 lead and then maintain that advantage through the interval to go 8-4 up. The other side of the break saw the pair continued their domination and then eventually clinched the game 15-11 and get their side off to a positive start.
Final Scoreline- Chris Adcock/ Pia Zebadiah beat Vladimir Ivanov/Kamilla Juhl 15-10 7-15 15-11
2.Men’s Singles- HS Prannoy(MR) vs Brice Leverdez(CS)
The opening game proved to be a totally one-sided affair in favour of the Indian as he dominated proceedings, leading 8-2 at the interval and then eventually clinching the game 15-8 to get off to a good start.
The second game saw Prannoy take an early 3-1 lead, thereby putting further pressure on Leverdez but the latter came back strongly into the match, levelling the score at 5-5 and then taking the lead before leading 8-6 at the interval mark.
However, Prannoy made a fine comeback after the interval, clinching 8 out of the next 11 points to attain 3 match points and converted the 1st one soon after to clinch the game 15-11 and the match.
Final Scoreline- HS Prannoy beat Brice Leverdez 15-8 15-11
3.Men’s Doubles- Vladimir Ivanov/Matias Boe(MR) vs Chris Adcock/Pranaav Jerry Chopra(CS)[Trump Match MR]
It was the Mumbai pair who took the early advantage in this contest, taking a 5-3 lead in the opening game before heading into the break with an 8-5 scoreline in their favour. After the interval, the Rockets pair continued to have a sizeable lead over their opponents and eventually sealed the game 15-10 in their favour.
The second game saw the Smashers duo take an early 4-1 lead before marching on to a whopping 8-1 advantage at the interval mark. Despite a three-point streak after the interval, it didn't prove to be enough as the Smashers clinched the game 15-9.
The decider saw the Rockets take an early 5-2 lead, but the Smashers fought back to win two straight points to reduce the deficit to one. The duo of Adcock and Chopra kept the fight on, chipping away with the points and levelled the score at 7-7 and then took the lead at the interval, leaving Boe and the Rockets stunned.
After the interval, both teams continued the fight on, but the decisive turn came at the 12-12 mark when the Rockets 3 out of the next 4 points to clinch the game 15-13 and with that match as well.
Final Scoreline- Vladimir Ivanov/Mathias Boe beat Chris Adcock/Pranaav Jerry Chopra 15-10 9-15 15-13
4.Women’s Singles- Li Han(MR) vs PV Sindhu(CS)
The opening game saw Sindhu take an early 2-1 lead before stretching the advantage to 8-5 at the interval mark.Sindhu further tightened her grip over proceedings after the break and eventually clinched the game 15-8.
The second game saw Li take an early 3-1 lead before Sindhu fought back to level the scores at 4-4 and then took the lead at 5-4.But Li assumed control soon and retained the lead until the end to clinch the second game 15-11.
The decider proved to be yet another keen affair as both players kept the fight on, but it was the Indian who prevailed in the end 15-8 to give her side the win and make ir 2-2.
Final Scoreline- PV Sindhu beat Li Han 15-8 11-15 15-8
5.Men’s Singles- RMV Gurusaidutt(MR) vs Simon Santoso(CS)[Trump match CS]
With the score tied at 2-2, the second Men’s Singles tie assumed significance, even more so for the Smashers as it was their turn to use the ‘Trump Match” and under pressure, the Indonesian Simon Santoso delivered for the visitors, clinching the opening game 15-9.
The pressure no was on Gurusaidutt in the second game, but despite his best attempts the Indian couldn't quite hold his nerve and lost the second game 15-12 to hand the Smashers a 4-3 win on the night.
Final Scoreline- Simon Santoso beat RMV Gurusaidutt 15-9 15-12
