IBL 2013, 2nd semi-final: Mumbai Masters vs Awadhe Warriors - As it happened...

Awadhe Warriors lock horns with Mumbai Masters in the second semi-final of the Indian Badminton League at Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium on Thursday.

Zee Media Bureau

Bangalore: Awadhe Warriors defeated Mumbai Masters 3-2 in the second semi-final of the Indian Badminton League at Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium on Thursday. 2nd SF: REPORT» ==================================================================================== Match 5, mixed doubles: Markis Kido and Pia Bernadeth vs Vladimir Ivanov and Tine Baun Result: Markis Kido and Pia Bernadeth won 21-19, 21-15 Awadhe Warriors brother-sister pair of Markis Kido and Pia Bernadeth won the crucial fifth match and the tie 3-2 against Mumbai Masters in the second semi-final of the Indian Badminton League at Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium on Thursday. The result of the second semis went into the fifth match where the Awadhe Warriors pair, one of the best in the tournament, edged past the Russian pair in straight sets 21-19, 21-15. Tine Baun who lost to PV Sindhu earlier in the day received some medical treatment before the match. The first game was tied 18-18 at one stage after which Awadhe Warriors won two consecutive points and got two game points. Ivanov saved the first game point with a cross court smash but Markis Kido delivered a perfect down the line smash to seal the first game for Awadhe Warriors. ==================================================================================== Match 4, men’s singles: Vladimir Ivanov vs K Srikanth Result: Vladimir Ivanov won it 21-20, 21-19 The second game proved to be another close contest, a neck-to-neck fight, which was once again won by Ivanov 21-19. Srikanth played his heart out but Ivanov outshined him on the basis of his experience as a doubles player. The tie is now 2-2 and everything depends on the mixed doubles match now. The fourth match started off to a great contest between Ivanov and Srikanth as the Russian won the first game 21-10 in what was a superb display of badminton by both the players. ==================================================================================== Match 3, men’s doubles: Markis Kido and Mathias Boe (Awadhe Warriors) vs Sumeeth Reddy and Pranav Chopra (Mumbai Masters) Result: Kido/Boe defeated Reddy/Chopra 21-15 21-10 Awadhe Warriors continued their good show in the tie after their men’s doubles pair of Markis Kido and Mathias Boe comprehensively defeated Sumeeth Reddy and Pranav Chopra of Mumbai. Awadhe Warriors now lead the tie 2-1 and a lot now depends on how Vladimir Ivanov plays his singles match against K Srikanth of the Awadhe Warriors, a must-win match for Mumbai. ==================================================================================== Match 2, women’s singles: PV Sindhu va Tine Baun Result: PV Sindhu won 21-16, 21-13 Game2: Scores are leveled at 2-2. Sindhu smashes to earn another point. Baun takes the next point. But Sindhu grabs the next to make it 4-3 in her favour. And one more cross court drop and Sindhu is leading 6-3. Next point goes to Baun 4-6. Going for the first break Sindhu is leading 7-4. After coming from break Sindhu increases her lead 11-5. Baun is not looking fit at all. Unforced errors by Baun and another point goes to Sindhu 12-7. Sindhu is giving a tough time to the All England Champion as the score line before going for the second break is 14-8. Unforced errors by Baun continues and the score line reaches 11-16. Sindhu is quite composed and Baun is under immense pressure as the score line reaches 19-12. Another two points by Sindhu and the game goes to Sindhu 21-13. And with this win Sindhu wins the match and Awadhe Warriors equaled the tie 1-1. Game 1: First point goes to Sindhu. But then Baun takes the next two to make it 2-1. In next point Sindhu equals the score 2-2. Sindhu takes the next two as well to take the lead 4-2. Baun takes the next point but then the next two points goes in favour of Sindhu. Sindhu Leading 6-3. Baun takes the next but before going for the first break the score line is 7-4 in Sindhu’s favour. After a long rally Sindhu takes the first point after coming back from the break 8-4. Sindhu takes another point to make it 9-4. Both the players share the next two points 10-5. Sindhu increase her lead with another point 11-5. Sindhu is using her cross court drop shots with good effect. Score line is 13-6 in Sindhu’s favour after a long rally. Tina earns two points 13-8. But before going for the second break the score-line is 14-9 in Sindhu’s favour. Once again Sindhu earns a point by cross court drop 15-9. Baun earns the two next 15-11. A powerful smash and Baun reaches to 13 points against Sindhu’s 16. With a smash Sindhu makes it 18-15. And with another smash Sindhu reaches to the game point 20-16. And another point to Sindhu and she takes the first set 21-16 in just 18 minutes. ==================================================================================== Match 1, men’s singles: Lee Chong Wei vs RMV Gurusai Dutt Result: Lee Chong Wei won 21-15, 21-7 Chong Wei played more aggressively in the second game where he was leading 14-1 at the end of the second break. Chong Wei extended his lead to 17-4 and went on to win the game 21-7. Chong Wei won the first game 21-15. Both the players won two points each as the score board read 2-2. With some deceptive play, Chong Wei took a three-point lead at 5-2. But Gurusai made a good comeback and reduced the lead to 4-5. Chong Wei was leading 7-4 after he won his seventh point with a cross court smash. ==================================================================================== Both the teams have displayed what they are capable of right through the tournament and they would now be keen to seal their berth for the final which they will play against Hyderabad Hotshots who thrashed Pune Pistons 3-0 in the first semi-final at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium on Wednesday. Mumbai Masters were the last team to qualify for the semis and they have some big names in their squad including World No. 1, Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia), Mark Zwiebler (Germany), Tine Baun (Denmark) and Vladimir Ivanov (Russia). Awadhe Warriors on the other hand would leave no stone unturned in giving their best. The team management would want PV Sindhu to win her women's singles match to inspire other players to do well. In their previous meeting, Awadhe Warriors had defeated Mumbai Masters 3-2. ==================================================================================== Summary of first semi-final: Inspired by the fighting spirit of their icon player Saina Nehwal, Hyderabad Hotshots thrashed Pune Pistons 3-0 in the first semi-final tie played at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium on Wednesday. Such was Hyderabad’s dominance, than Ashwini Ponnappa, the icon player of Pune Pistons didn’t even get the chance to appear in her mixed doubles match as Hyderabad won the first three matches on the trot. In the men’s singles match, Hyderabad Hotshots’ Ajay Jayaram got his side to a terrific start as he defeated Pune Pistons’ Tien Minh Nguyen in comprehensive style. Jayaram, who has been phenomenal right through the tournament, once again played some superb badminton and outshined his opponent in straight sets - 21-17, 21-11. The first match was followed by the most anticipated match, the women’s singles encounter between Saina Nehwal and Pune Pistons’ Juliane Schenk. Even though Saina had defeated Juliane in their previous meeting in the tournament, Saina played her heart out in a tense match which she finally won 21-10, 19-21, 11-8. In the men’s doubles match, Pune Pistons’ pair of Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Sanave Thomas gave their franchise something to cheer about in the must-win match as they won the first game against Shem Goh and Wah Lim of Hyderabad Hotshots 21-16. But, they couldn’t sustain the momentum as Fischer and Sanave came back to win the next two games and the tie for their side. It was a painful sight for Ashwini Ponnappa who sat in the dugout as her players left the court one after the other after being defeated by Hyderabad’s determined shuttlers.