PBL FINAL: Delhi Acers have the power to outclass Mumbai Rockets for the title

IN WHAT SHOULD BE thrilling encounter, the Delhi Acers and Mumbai Rockets are set to compete in the finals of the Premier Badminton League (PBL) today at the DDA Badminton & Squash Stadium, Siri Fort in New Delhi.

The teams have reached the finals beating formidable opponents; Delhi defeated Chennai 4-3 while Mumbai trumped Awadhe 3-0.

In the group stage, the Rockets lost miserably (0-5) against Delhi. The Acers will want to continue the same form into the finals, and they will also be supported by the home crowd who will be expecting them to triumph. 

The Acers' strength lies in their men's singles and men's doubles category. Moreover, Ajay Jayaram, Tommy Sugiarto, and Rajiv form a great team in the men's singles. Ajay and Tommy are unbeaten in the league, while Rajiv has lost just one match.

The men's doubles pair of Kien/Heong form a strong combination. They broke the winning run of Ivanov/Boe whom they are likely to meet again in the finals. The mixed doubles and women's singles are the weak areas for the Acers.

Mumbai's strength lies in their men's doubles, mixed doubles, and HS Prannoy, in the men's singles.

Prannoy has been able to live up to expectations when his team needs him the most. Ivanov/Boe are an extra-ordinary pair together, having lost just one match in the league together. The mixed doubles pair of Ivanov/Kamilla too look strong as they understand each other's game, and being the tallest pair in the league provides some advantage.

Mumbai's women singles player, Han Li, might prove to be the star again as she was responsible for getting the team into the final by defeating Saina Nehwal in the semi-final.

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 PBL final 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.

DELHI ACERS vs MUMBAI ROCKETS

The following shuttlers are likely to play against each other in their respective categories; Men's singles: Ajay Jayaram (Delhi) against HS Prannoy (Mumbai); Men's doubles: Kien/Heong (Delhi) against Ivanov/Boe (Mumbai); Women's singles: Thulasi (Delhi) against Han Li (Mumbai); Men's singles: Tommy Sugiarto (Delhi) against Gurusaidutt (Mumbai); Mixed doubles: Akshay/Gabrielle (Delhi) against Ivanov/Juhl (Mumbai).

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

Delhi is likely to choose Ajay's match as the Trump match. They would be betting on his unbeaten record and will expecty him to come on top when he meets his compatriot Prannoy in the final. Ajay will be going into this match well rested. Prannoy hasn't been very consistent in the league. Ajay has emerged as the favourite to take this match.

Since Kien/Heong were the ones who broke Ivanov/Boe's winning run. They come into this game with a huge psychological advantage. The Delhi duo now know their opponent's weak points and will aim to outclass them

Mumbai is likely to nominate Han Li's match for their Trump match. The Chinese shuttler's confidence will be at a high after beating Saina in the latter's Trump match in the semis. Li also leads in the head-to-head count by 1-0 against Thulasi. The Acers' shuttler has won  just one match which came against junior player Ruthvika of Mumbai. The Delhi team can surely add two points to their kitty through this Trump match.

Tommy will want to continue his good run in the PBL and remain unbeaten till the end of the league. The Indonesian holds a 3-1 lead against Gurusai in the head-to-head count, and is unlikley to be torubled by the Indian.

The mixed doubles contest is one match which the Rockets will win as Ivanov/Juhl have been in good form, in comparison to Akshay/Gabrielle. Ivanov and Kamilla are more experienced than the Acers' duo, and even in the league stage the Delhi pair were winners.

But this win is most likley to be a consolation win for the Mumbai Rockets as they are going to be outclassed by the Delhi team. The Rockets will have to pray that the pressures of competing in a final will affect the Acers' shuttlers in order to overcome them.

So for the last time the teams will meet each other

THIS IS IT! Delhi Acers and Mumbai Rockets are the last #Baddies standing! Who’ll win the @PBLIndiaLive? https://t.co/vQnaZdQHtI

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) January 16, 2016