Over the last four years, India’s Kidambi Srikanth and Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto have been engaged in pulsating contests.
Recently, Srikanth notched up a three-game win against Sugiarto in a World Tour Super 750 series in China to restore career scores at 3-3.
Their intense rivalry once again came to the fore in the second men’s singles match, after Bengaluru Raptors and Delhi Dashers split the opening two Trump matches in the Vodafone PBL at ‘The Arena by SE TransStadia’ here on Wednesday. After a tussle the Raptors captain, Srikanth came through in three games.
As it happened: Bengaluru vs Delhi
Both Srikanth and Sugiarto are top 10 ranked players, and as the first two well-contested games indicated, there was not much of a qualitative difference in their display of style or skill. They brought their full repertoire into play, with the jump smash and other crafty shots winning them points.
Eventually, Srikanth upped the ante to take the third game and the match to put his team ahead in the tie.
Srikanth blended his powerful smash and soft hand skills to convert the 8-4 lead at the break into a decisive winning score at 15-10. Srikanth won a short rally with a smash to bring an end to the contest.
After his win, Vu Thi Thrang clinched the tie for Raptors scoring a hard-fought win against Chia Hsin Lee.
In the men's doubles and also the last match of the evening — Chai Biao and Maneepong Jongjit of Delhi Dashers beat Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan 15-7, 11-15, 15-14. But Bengaluru Raptors won the match 2-1.
The results:
Bengaluru Raptors beats Delhi Dashers 2-1: B. Sai Praneeth bt H.S. Prannoy (T) 15-3, 12,14-15, 15-13; Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith (T) lost to Maneepong Jongjit and Evgeniya Kosetskaya 3-15, 9-15; K. Srikanth bt Tommy Sugiarto 15-6, 12-15, 15-10; Vu Thi Thrang bt Chia Hsin Lee 12-15, 15-3, 15-8; Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan lost to Chai Biao and Maneepong Jongjit 7-15, 15-11, 14-15.
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