PBL 2018-19: 5 players who disappointed in the Ahmedabad Leg

#4 P V Sindhu (Hyderabad Hunters)

It may come as a surprise to see PV Sindhu in the list of players who disappointed in the Ahmedabad leg. After all, she won her match, that too, a trump match to help Hyderabad Hunters eke out a closely fought tie against Ahmedabad Smash Masters by a 4-3 margin.

However, she is on this list purely because of the disappointing nature of her win. The world number three Sindhu was playing against a much lower ranked Kristy Gilmour and was expected to sail through.

But there were long stretches in the match where she was being out-maneuvered and outplayed by Gilmour. In fact, the two games Sindhu won went to the deciding point which she managed to win. The eventual score-line 15-14, 12-15, 15-14 is a true reflection of the extremely competitive nature of this match.

Though she did hold her nerves at crunch moments, she was certainly lucky to survive this encounter. Her level of play in this match was way below the lofty standards she has set for herself.

Hyderabad Hunters would certainly hope for a much better show from Sindhu during the knock out stages, starting from the semi-finals.

#5 Tian Houwei (North East Warriors)

The world number 22 Tian Houwei faced world number 16 Sai Praneeth of Bengaluru Raptors in a must-win game for his franchise, North East Warriors.

He began on the right note, by winning the first game 15-12. However, in the next two games, he simply failed to maintain the standard that he had displayed in the first game. He lost those games by lop-sided margins of 6-15 and 7-15.

Being a lower ranked player, it was credible that he was able to extend the match to three games. However, his lackluster display in the second and third games after the high of the first game must have disappointed him and his franchise no end. The nature of his capitulation after winning the first game in some style was quite surprising.

Edited by Rajdeep Puri