Bengaluru: It was Delhi Acers who met the Mumbai Rockets at Bengaluru during the ongoing Star Sports Premier Badminton League. Mumbai Rockets took the court with an intention to bag as many points as possible but that did not prove to be the scenario for them. They started the Tie with huge form as they won the first match, grabbing the first point of the Tie. But post that they lost all the matches including their Trump resulting in the score reading 0-5 in favor of the Acers.

From here Mumbai Rockets will wait for the results of the Tie between Chennai Smashers and Bengaluru Rockets before coming to know if they made it to the semi-finals, slated for tomorrow (Bengaluru) and day after tomorrow(Hyderabad). While Delhi Acers who already had 15 points before the Tie, now lead the points table with 20 points surpassing Awadhe Warriors.

The first match was between the Mixed Doubles duo of both the teams and it was the Rockets who won the first game. Though the Acers pair, Akshay Dewalkar and Aparna Balan should be given due credit as they gave a huge challenge to the Kamilla Juhl and her partner Vladimir Ivanov. Eventually it was the latter who stamped their name on the victory tag giving Mumbai Rockets the first point on the scoreboard.

The second match was the trump of Mumbai Rockets and they put their faith on the young Ruthvika Gadde who played against PC Thulasi. While Ruthvika lost the first game she came back strongly in the second game and kept the match alive for her in the third game. Half way through the third game saw Ruthika leading the game and many believed that she will soon bag the game and the important two points. But Thulasi had other plans as she attacked in the entire last half of the third game, taking the match for her team. The Trump again played a role as the loss meant Mumbai lose the 1 point they had in their name and Delhi Acers now were leading the tie at 1-0.

Mumbai Rockets were hoping that HS Prannoy playing against Tommy Sugiarto will get them the 1 point to their name. Beginning the Tie at a high they were now on a back-foot and which was a big worry for them as they were aiming to get as many points from the Tie today as possible. They were even aware that Delhi still had to play its Trump match, hence getting back into the winning form was important for them. But unfortunately for them, Tummy Sugiarto from the Rockets stable proved to be too strong for HS Prannoy as he easily beat him in two quick games. This strengthened Delhi Acers hold in the match to 2-0.

This was the Men’s Doubles match between Vladimir Ivanov with Mathias Boe against Acers Koo Keat Kien with Tan Boon Heong. With the Trump match slated to be the last match of Tie, both the teams were looking at winning this one. As was expected the match was electrifying. While the first game was won by the Delhi Acers, the Mumbai Rockets bounced back to take the second game. The third game proved to be full of speed and smashes and it was the Acers who kept their nerves intact to win the game and the match. The win ensured that the Delhi Acers had the tie in their name and the scoreboard read 3-0 in their favor.

It was the time of Delhi Acers Trump match as Rajiv Ouseph took the court to clash against Gurusai Dutt from the Acers side. Playing without any pressure, Rajiv dominated the entire proceedings as he won both the game convincingly. This gave Delhi 2 points and they obtained 5 points, an ideal situation which any team would love to have in their name in the Star Sports Premier Badminton League. The final score read 5-0.

Commenting on the Tie today, Dr. Akhilesh Das Gupta, President BAI & Chairman PBL said “what a game of badminton it was today. A team which started with a win, ended with no points to their name at the end of the Tie. This is the fun of the Trump rule and with each Tie the trump keeps playing a huge role. For some it proves to be a big boon but for others a bet placed wrong.”

After winning the Mixed doubles match, Vladimir and Juhl said “Today is the last day of the League phase so every point will count in this last Tie. It’s good that we started the day with a victory now we hope to continue the winning streak and make our place in the semi finals.”

After winning the match against Ruthvika, Thulasi quoted “This is a confidence booster win for our team, it was a Trump match for Mumbai and after winning the first set I lost focus in the 2nd and paid the price. Luckily I hold my nerves in the third and managed to win a vital point for our team. ”

Commenting post the win, Tommy Sugiarto said “A pretty comfortable win for our team which will really help our team’s confidence for the upcoming semi-final match. We have already qualified for the semi finals and these games will really help us to try different combinations in the all important next stage.”

After winning the Men’s doubles match, Koo Keat and Taan Boon Heong said “What a great win for our team, you don’t expect to win after losing the first game and trailing in second but we showed that we are the best pair in this Star Sports PBL 2016. This win ensures that we seal the Tie in our name and these wins will only add to our confidence in the semi-finals.”

Post the convincing win, Rajiv Ouseph said “He was good on many times during the match and I had to ensure that I outwit him on every occasion. I managed to keep the hold and won the match convincingly. With this we now move to the semi-finals clash which starts tomorrow”

The match tally was as follows:

Mumbai Rockets lost to Delhi Acers: 0-5 (points)

Fastest Smash of the Day (Male) – HS Prannoy (MR) 410 KMPH

Fastest Smash of the Day (Female) – Ruthvika Gadde (MR) 296 KMPH

Longest Rally of the Day – PC Thulasi (DA)

Most Valuable Player – Tommy Sugiarto (DA)