Bangalore: The Krrish Delhi Smashers defeated hosts Banga Beats 4-1 to keep their hopes of a semifinal spot alive in the Indian Badminton League (IBL) here Sunday.
Winning the tie at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium helped the Smashers win five points and are now fourth with 13 in the standings. On the other hand, the Beats lost their third tie in four outings and are fifth with nine points.
In the first men's singles rubber, Beats' icon player Parupalli Kashyap was in his elements against his junior, B. Sai Praneeth of the Smashers, as the World No.14 won in straight games to the delight of the crowd. Kashyap won 21-15, 21-11 to make it 1-0 for the Beats.
However, the Smashers came back in style to win the next four matches to seal the extremely crucial tie.
Jindapon Nichaon of the Smashers overcame Carolina Marin 21-17, 15-21, 11-9 in a tough women's singles match which took almost an hour followed by World No.4 Malaysian pairing of Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Hoeng defeating Carsten Mogensen and Akshay Dewalkar 21-11, 20-21, 11-7 in the men's doubles match.
Kerala shuttler H.S. Prannoy sealed the tie for the Smashers when he defeated former national champion Arvind Bhat 21-18, 7-21, 11-8 in the second men's singles rubber.
The World No.47 Prannoy used him jump smashes to good effect in the first game against his much senior opponent. Bhat appeared nervous at crucial junctures, making errors which cost him the game.
However, Bhat, playing in his hometown, gave his best shot and completely outplayed Prannoy, after the Beats' shuttler took a healthy lead.
The shorter third game was a close affair with both players keeping in range of each other but Prannoy took the initiative just when it mattered and started hitting aggressive shots and came out victorious in the end, winning the much-needed tie for his team.
In the dead mixed doubles rubber, Delhi's icon player Jwala Gutta came together with her former partner V. Diju to take on Carsten Mogensen and Carolina Marin, both playing their second match of the day, and won the match in three games to give her team the extra point. Jwala, playing her first match since the opening round in New Delhi, with Diju won 21-16, 15-21, 11-9.
Results: Parupalli Kashyap (Beats) beat B. Sai Praneeth (Smashers) 21-15, 21-11; Jindapon Nichaon (Smashers) beat Carolina Marin (Beats) 21-17, 15-21, 11-9; Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Hoeng (Smashers) beat Carsten Mogensen/Akshay Dewalkar (Beats) 21-18, 20-21, 11-7; H.S. Prannoy (Smashers) beat Arvind Bhat (Beats) 21-18, 7-21, 11-8; Jwala Gutta/V. Diju (Smashers) beat Carsten Mogensen/Carolina Marin (Beats) 21-16, 15-21, 11-9.
