The Chennai Superstarz will be up against North Eastern Warriors in what will be the 18th tie of Premier Badminton League 2020. Both the teams are already through to the semi-finals and the upcoming tie will be a battle for supremacy.
The Superstarz have won four of their five ties played so far. A dominating 5-2 win over Hyderabad Hunters was followed by identical 4-3 wins over Mumbai Rockets and Bengaluru Raptors. Suffering a rare setback, the Chennai-based franchise faltered against the Pune 7 Aces and lost 2-5. However, they have recovered well and most of the Chennai shuttlers looked convincing in their 4-3 triumph over Awadhe Warriors in their previous tie.
Young Indian sensation Lakshya Sen has been highly impressive throughout PBL 2020. He only faltered against K.Y. Loh of Pune 7 Aces and has won all his other four encounters. Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour has also been sensational. However, Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto is the biggest strength for the Vijaydeep Singh-coached unit as he has won all his Men's Singles encounters.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Jessica Pugh have fared well in the Mixed Doubles category and play a crucial role in the side as well. Their nerve-wracking 15-11, 13-15, 15-14 win over K.S. Hyun and C.Pedersen of Awadhe Warriors ensured a 4-3 win for Chennai Superstarz in the previous tie.
North Eastern Warriors have also played 5 ties in PBL 2020. They started off with a 4-3 win over the defending champions Bengaluru Raptors but were on the losing end in their next tie against Awadhe Warriors. 2017-18 Champions Hyderabad handed the Warriors a 2-1 defeat in their third tie. However, Edwin Iriawan's troops have come back strongly and registered a 5-2 win over Mumbai Rockets in their fourth tie before decimating Pune 7 Aces 5-0 in their fifth tie.
The standout player for the Warriors has been Canadian ace Michelle Li and has won all five of her encounters. Four of these were trump matches and the World Number 10 has even upset India's top ranked Women's shuttler PV Sindhu in her glittering PBL campaign. Li's encounter against Chennai's Kirsty Gilmour guarantees a lot of fireworks.
In the Men's Singles category, Lee Cheuk Yiu has been in the limelight for North Eastern Warriors. The Hong Kong International has won four of his five encounters thus far. He will likely lock horns with India's Lakshya Sen in the upcoming tie and this will also be another interesting battle to look forward to.
Here is all the information you need to know about Day 16, Tie 18 and the PBL 2020 Schedule:
Tie: North Eastern Warriors vs Chennai Superstarz
Tournament: Premier Badminton League Season 5
Venue: G. M. C. Balayogi SATS Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad
Date: 4th February 2020
Time: 03:30 PM IST onwards
Head-to-head: North Eastern Warriors 0 - 0 Chennai Superstarz
Where to watch the matches in India?
North Eastern Warriors vs Chennai Superstarz will be telecast LIVE on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 HD.
PBL Day 16 live stream details
Live Stream for PBL Day 16 will be available on Hotstar.com
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