Lucknow: India's ace shuttler Saina Nehwal beat Suo Di 15-10 13-15 8-15 in Awadhe Warriors' trump match to steer her team to a comfortable win over Bengaluru Top Guns in the Premier Badminton League (PBL) here on Wednesday.

With Bengaluru Top Guns still searching for their first win in the Premier Badminton League, they took on the home team Awadhe Warriors on a chilly Lucknow evening.

In the first match of the tie in Lucknow, Bengaluru's Ashwini Ponappa took the court with her third partner of the league, Malaysian Khim Wah Lim against Maneesha and Bodin Issara of Awadhe Warriors. The Bengaluru duo combined to provide a wonderful start to the tie despite faltering in the second game. Both games won by Bengaluru were characterised by Ashwini's perfect smashes and a comeback spirit that saw them win 15-13 11-15 15-13 and give Bengaluru a 1-0 lead in the tie.

In the second match of the tie, it was Sameer Verma up against Sai Praneeth in the first men's singles match. Praneeth held an edge over Sameer in their head to head record (2 wins for Praneeth over Sameer) but the Bengaluru player didn't seem under pressure. Both players were giving it their all with smashes recording speeds of over 300 kmph and Sai Praneeth looked to be taking it away from Sameer. But Sameer's resolve was strong and despite trailing 5-12 in the second game, the Bengaluru player closed out the match winning 15-13 15-14 and giving Bengaluru a strong 2-0 lead.

Bengaluru Top Guns selected Srikanth playing the second men's singles as their 'Trump Match' for the tie which meant that the Top Guns cannot choose Srikanth for a 'Trump Match' again in the league stage. The match began with a contentious call at the net where Srikanth was judged to have hit the net with his racket.

With Tanongsak leading 2-0 after being awarded that point for Srikanth's fault, the captain looked off his game and didn't expect a strong Tanongsak. The Warriors player surprised everyone by out-smashing Srikanth and pulling off an important upset over Srikanth, beating him 15-11 15-10 to level the tie 1 all. Bengaluru earned a negative point due to losing their 'Trump Match'.

In the second 'Trump Match' of the tie, Saina Nehwal from Awadhe Warriors made a comeback from injury to face Bengaluru's Suo Di in the women's single match. With the Chinese player pushing Saina to the edge in a previous meeting on the international circuit, Suo Di led the first game 6-1 before the Indian romped back to a 15-10 win in the first game despite nursing a bruised ankle.

Suo Di then turned the tables on the crowd favourite as she out-witted the Indian through a series of speedy shots to win the second game 15-13. But status quo resumed in the third game as Saina raced to an 8-2 lead at the break despite a successful challenge by Suo Di before the break. A spirited show by Suo Di didn't prevent her losing 10-15 15-13 8-15 to Saina Nehwal, leaving Bengaluru trailing 1-3 in the tie.