PBL 2017-18: MATCH REPORT -- Chennai Smashers win the tie but Bengaluru Blasters go on top of the points table
CHENNAI SMASHERS defeat Bengaluru Blasters 3-2 but the latter goes on top of the points table despite the loss.
A gripping men's doubles to begin the tie with as Sumeeth Reddy/Lee Yang and Mathias Boe/Kim Sa Rang gave the fans a night to remember. The fans have one more amazing match to add to their list of already some gruelling and nail biters this season.
Boe/Rang were playing the trump for the Blasters and winning the first game 15-8 gave them the much needed boost. But then with the performance that Sumeeth/Yang displayed, it looked as if they had an adrenaline rush running through them as they looked determined to push the match to a decider. And they did it by winning it 15-14. The final game too saw a close contest but Sumeeth and Yang were the better pair of the night that crossed the finish line with a 15-13 victory.
The loss put Bengaluru in a negative point and also the added pressure. This was followed by PV Sindhu's trump match against Kirsty Gilmour.
And Sindhu once again didn't disappoint her home fans as she emerged as the winner of the match, beating her opponent 15-9, 15-14. It was not the desired start for Sindhu as Kirsty held a good lead at the interval but post that, Sindhu showed her class and won the game taking a series of points thereafter. But in the second, Kirsty showed her fight and demanding more from Sindhu by making it a close contest. It went down to 14-14 and Sindhu took the winner.
Her win extended Chennai's lead to 3 while Bengaluru were still lurking with the negative point. The tie was only got more interesting as men's singles contest saw Viktor Axelsen and Tanongsak up against each other. The latter was all pumped after his win over Prannoy in the previous encounter.
It was yet another tough fight as both the shuttlers were seen wanting the win. At the end, Viktor Axelsen got his team back to positive point with his win, beating Tanongsak 15-11 6-15 15-9.
But Bengaluru had no chance of winning the tie as Chennai held the lead 3-0 with two matches remaining.
This was followed by the second men's singles match between youngster Subhankar Dey and Brice Leverdez.
And what a dominant performance from the youngster Subhankar. He got the best out of his experienced opponent and tested his limits.
He got the first point for his team Bengaluru as he finished things off in straight games 15-12 15-12.
The last match of the tie was also a great way to end the night as the winning mixed doubles pair of Sikki Reddy/Kim Sa Rang were up against PV Sindhu/Chris Adcock. And once again Sikki/Sa Rang put up a great show of badminton as they extended their winning run, beating Smashers pair 15-14, 15-11 to help their team Bengaluru Blasters go on top of the points table despite losing the tie 2-3.
Though Chennai won the tie, it hasn't done enough for them to qualify for the semis as they are tied with 12 points with Awadhe Warriors and Ahmedabad Smash Masters who still have a tie remaining to play.
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