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The Mumbai Rockets meet the North Eastern Warriors at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday in a clash of two teams with contrasting fortunes. The Rockets, who are two-time runners-up, made a thunderous start to their quest for their first PBL title with a commanding 5-0 win over the Delhi Dashers.
The Warriors, who made their debut last season, slumped to a 1-4 defeat at the hands of the Ahmedabad Smash Masters. Saina Nehwal opted not to play but that hardly made any difference as Rituparna Das did a wonderful job.
The former national champion upset the much higher-ranked Kirsty Gilmour to gift a vital point to her team on a night when the Warriors fell apart.
Today Nehwal will hope to inspire her side to a much-needed win but the task ahead is an uphill one. The Rockets have looked a solid and well-gelled team so far. With the BWF World Tour Finals semi-finalist Sameer Verma in the fray, they have indeed strengthened their line-up even further.
Sameer picked up at the PBL from where he left in Guangzhou and pummelled Delhi’s HS Prannoy in straight games, showing that he is very much keen to continue his terrific form even at the pan-Indian competition.
And that determination could help Sameer a lot as he is likely to cross swords with Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk, a player he trails 2-3 in their head-to-head meetings.
Saina should have an easy time on the court against Mumbai’s Anura Prabhudesai or Shreyanshi Pardeshi, both of whom are rising stars and lack in experience.
Mumbai’s World No. 19 Anders Antonsen should play a crucial role in getting their second win in men’s singles. The young Dane played a fabulous match in his straight-game defeat of the higher-ranked Tommy Sugiarto and would be itching to continue in that vein.
Mumbai’s Lee Young Dae and Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth formed a formidable partnership in their outing against the Delhi Dashers. Mumbai would be looking up to them to clinch the vital mixed doubles win and put them at an advantage.
On paper, the team from the west has the edge over their rivals from the north-east. It now remains to be seen if the Warriors can spring a surprise.
Here’s all the information you need to know about the PBL:
Tournament name: Premier Badminton League Season 4
Venue: The National Sports Club of India, Mumbai
Date: Thursday, December 27, 2018
Time: 7 pm IST
Head-to-head: First meeting
Channel: Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD
Live streaming: hotstar.com
Live Updates: On Sportskeeda
