SEMI-FINAL 2: Awadhe to ride on Saina trump to set up a clash against the Acers in PBL finals

AWADHE WARRIORS AND MUMBAI ROCKETS clash in the second semi-final of the Premier Badminton League (PBL) today at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad. The fans here will hope that Saina will be in action today and the support will be for her team. The first time these two teams met, the result ended in the Rockets favour.

The Warriors will look to turn things around this time, though it will be a difficultt ask. The Awadhe team looks confident as the only match they lost was against Mumbai on the first day, after which they have been performing like true Warriors. Mumbai, on the other hand, lost miserably to Delhi in their last match of the league and will look to gather themselves and perform better today.

RULES: Each tie comprises of 5 matches -- Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Singles, Mixed Doubles & Men’s Singles.  Each Match will be played as best-of-three games, with each game being a race to 15 points and a sudden death at 14-14. After each team shares the list of players who will be playing the 5 matches and their choice of Trump match, the order of play will be mutually decided by the technical team of PBL & broadcaster Star India before each tie (from a neutral perspective) to keep the schedule unpredictable.

TRUMP MATCH: Each team strategically selects one of the 5 matches that they play in a Tie as their Trump match. In a Trump match, a victory gives the team a bonus point and a loss gives it a negative point. A team cannot put the same player in the Trump matches proposed by them more than twice in the league stage and once in the knockout stage i.e. if team A places 5 trump matches during the league stage, any player can take part in maximum two of those 5 matches. However, the participation of a player in a Trump match proposed by the opponent will not be counted in this maximum 2 criterion.

For scoring in a Trump match, victory in a normal match gives 1 point, loss carries 0 points. In a Trump match, the team that has called for the Trump gets 2 points for victory and -1 for a loss. However, the other team will play this match as a normal match and will either get 1 or 0 points for win or loss respectively. If both the teams place the Trump on the same match, then for both of them +2 or -1 scoring will apply for win or loss respectively.

TFG analyses and predicts the winner of the match based on a possible line-up of players, as the teams have to announce their team and Trump match only an hour before the game.

AWADHE WARRIORS vs MUMBAI ROCKETS

The following shuttlers are likely to play against each other in their respective categories; Men's singles: Sai Praneeth (Awadhe) against HS Prannoy (Mumbai); Men's doubles: Cai Yun/Issara (Awadhe) against Ivanov/Boe (Mumbai); Women's singles: Saina (Awadhe) against Han Li (Mumbai); Men's singles: Tanongsak (Awadhe) against Gurusaidutt (Mumbai); Mixed doubles: Issara/Pedersen (Awadhe) against Ivanov/Juhl (Mumbai).

It remains to be seen which matches each team will nominate as their Trump match.

Prannoy holds a 2-1 lead against Praneeth in the head-to-head count at the international stage. They haven't played against each other in this league. Both the shuttlers haven't been consistent in their performances. Considering the previous match, Praneeth had a great outing against Kuncoro of Chennai whereas Prannoy lost in straight games against Tommy of Delhi. This match is likely to go in favour of Praneeth, a Trump match for the Rockets.

After the first match, Awadhe's Yun/Issara have got back to winning ways and have been performing well. Ivanov/Boe's unbeaten streak ended while playing against Kien/Heong of Delhi. This will be a tough outing, and since Yun/Issara have been in good touch they are likely to win this match.

Saina leads 2-1 in the head-to-head count against Han Li. She has played two matches in the league stage and won both. She has been in good form despite her injury. The fans will want her to play and she will backed with huge support. Saina is unlikely to disappoint in this Trump match, fetching two valuable points for her team.

The Thai shuttler from Awadhe, Tanongsak holds a 3-0 lead against Gurusaidutt. But both the shuttlers have been in good touch and therefore it will be a tight contest. Tanongsak will ahve to draw on his vast experience to win the match for his team.

The mixed doubles pair of both the teams have been in good touch. But since Issara and Pedersen have the experience of playing and winning against the Mumbai pair, it is likely that they hold an edge. However, the result of this match is unlikely to stop the Warriors from marching into the finals as they would already be holding an unassailable lead.