Mumbai Masters vs Awadhe Warriors(Photo credit:Indian Badminton League)
It’s been a very long journey of almost 3 weeks for Indian Badminton League with more than 80 games. Finally we have our two finalists for the first edition of Indian Badminton League and they are Hyderabad Hotshots and Awadhe Warriors. Awadhe Warriors at the start of the tournament looked out of form, but then they came back with a bang. The way they played against Mumbai Masters on 29th August at Bangalore is worth praising. They knew their limitations as well as their strengths which helped them in winning the game.
Awadhe Warriors looked week in front of Mumbai Master when compared in terms of Men’s Singles because they knew that Mumbai Masters have one of the best players un the world for that category. Above all, both Lee Chong Wei and Vladimir Ivanov are unbeatable in singles category and this was the only threat to Awadhe Warriors as we have already discussed in the preview of this match. P.V. Sindhu is back into the form after losing a few games in the beginning. She played convincingly against Tine Baun and won the game in two straight sets with the scores of (21 – 16) & (21 – 13). For me, it was almost a one sided game in which P.V. Sindhu dominated. Awadhe Warriors are known for Doubles category and hence, they have proved it again by winning both the games in two straight sets. Markis Kido is the star of both the games. He was accompanied by Mathias Boe for Men’s Doubles and for Mixed Doubles his partner was Pia Z Bernadet. The first game was always in the favour of Awadhe Warriors as they won it by (21 – 15) & (21 – 10) and the next game was won by a score of (21 – 19) & (21 – 15). Markis Kido was announced as the Vodafone Player of the Tie for his wonderful performance.
IBL Final: Hyderabad Hotshots v/s Awadhe Warriors (31st August, 2000 hrs)
The final for the first edition of Indian Badminton League will be played at Mumbai on 31st August between Hyderabad Hotshots and Awadhe Warriors. In their last encounter in Indian Badminton League, Hyderabad Hotshots won with a score of (3 – 2). It will be really interesting to see the strategies of both the teams. Awadhe Warriors are strong in Doubles Category whereas Hyderabad Hotshots have an edge in singles category. The most awaited game in this match will be between Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu. Saina Nehwal is still unbeatable in this tournament and it will be really interesting to see how P.V. Sindhu responds to her in this match. This will be the most important match of her career. If Awadhe Warriors come out strong for singles category, then it will be a really difficult task to beat them in finals. The other key game will be between K. Srikanth and Ajay Jayaram. We will be back again with all the actions in this match very soon. Till then, Bye!