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After three weeks of sizzling action at the Premier Badminton League (PBL) 2018, we have now arrived at the final day. Hyderabad Hunters and Bengaluru Blasters will fight it out in this exciting southern derby at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday as both aim to win the PBL title for the first time.
While the current men's singles World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen leads the Blasters, the former women's singles No. 1 Carolina Marin spearheads the Hunters' challenge.
This will be the second meeting between the two teams at this particular leg. They had squared off on Thursday where the home team pummelled their southern neighbours 6-(-1).
The way in which the Hyderabad franchise has been performing of late, it is tough to not imagine them as the winners. They won their semi-final 3-0 against former champions Delhi Dashers and it was decided in just three matches.
Carolina Marin and Sai Praneeth were Hyderabad's guiding forces on the night of the semi-final and they would very much look to repeat their heroics. While Marin is expected to come through her women's singles match against Kirsty Gilmour, the same cannot be said about Sai Praneeth for he will face Axelsen.
The Bengaluru franchise had to fight much harder against the Ahmedabad Smash Masters for their narrow 4-3 semi-final win. That will sure inspire them to make the final a much tighter contest.
A lot will depend on the doubles pairs of the respective teams. Can the terrific crowd support help the home pairs to snatch a win and guide their team to their maiden title?
Here is all the information you need to know
Tournament name: Premier Badminton League Season 3
Venue: Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad
Date: Sunday, January 14, 2018
Round: Final
Time: Hyderabad Hunters vs Bengaluru Blasters at 7pm IST
Channel: Star Sports 1/Star Sports 1 HD
Livestream information: Star Sports Hotstar
The squads:
Hyderabad Hunters - B Sai Praneeth, Lee Hyun Il, Rahul Yadav Chittaboina, Carolina Marin, Rasika Raje, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Yoo Yeon-Seong, Markis Kido, Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth, Anoushka Parikh.
Bengaluru Blasters - Viktor Axelsen, Chong Wei Feng, Subhankar Dey, Kirsty Gilmour, Rituparna Das, Mathias Boe, Manu Attri, Kim Sa Rang, N Sikki Reddy, Sanjana Santosh.
