Indian Badminton League, Day 3: As it happened...

====================================================================================

Zee Media Bureau Lucknow: It was another scintillating day of badminton in the Indian Badminton League after the results between the four teams were decided in the fifth match, a kind of contest we all expected in the inaugural edition of the tournament. Just to remind all of you, while the Krrish Delhi Smashers defeated Hyderabad Hotshots 3-2, Pune Pistons defeated Mumbai Masters 3-2 in yet another nail-biting contest. ==================================================================================== HIGHLIGHTS OF ALL THE MATCHES FROM DAY 3: Pune Pistons defeat Mumbai Masters 3-2 Match 5: Mixed doubles: Joachim Fischer Nielsen/Ashwini Ponnappa vs Pranav Chopra/Siki Reddy It was a thrilling contest between the two teams in the decider. The first game was tied at 18-18 at one point after which Mumbai Masters' Pranav Chopra/Siki Reddy won two consecutive points and levelled the score at 20-20. But Ashwini Ponnappa delivered a perfect cross court smash to seal the first game for Pune Pistons. However it was a different story in the second game where Pranav Chopra/Siki Reddy lost all the momentum and the rhythm as Joachim Fischer Nielsen/Ashwini Ponnappa won it 21-13. Match 4: Men's singles: Marc Zwiebler vs Nguyen Tien Minh Nguyen Tien Minh won the first game 21-18 after both the players enthralled the crowd with some superb play. The Vietnamese had no problems whatsoever in the second game which he convicningly won 21-13. This levels the tie at 2 games all. Once again, the fifth match will be the decider. Match 3: Men's doubles: Sanave Thomas/Rupesh Kumar vs Pranav Chopra/Vladimir Ivanov It was a neck-to-neck fight in the men's doubles match where first Mumbai Masters' Pranav Chopra/Vladimir Ivanov won the first game 21-12 in comprehensive fashion. Six-foot seven-inch Ivanov who is having a dream tournament made the best use of his height and hit some massive smashes in the first game. In the second game, which was a nail-biter, Sanave Thomas/Rupesh Kumar kept their cool and levelled the score with a 21-20 win. However, Pranav and Ivanov once again rose to the occasion in the decided and won it 11-9. Mumbai now lead 2-1 over Pune. Match 2: Women's singles: Juliane Schenk vs Tine Baun Schenk defeated Baun 11-21 21-10 11-7 in women's singles. Baun from Mumbai Masters won the first game easily after which Schenk made a spectacular comeback for her side and flummoxed Baun with her aggression. With this victory, Pune now level it 1-1 with Mumbai Masters. It was Baun's second loss in a row. Match 1: Men's singles: Vladimir Ivanov vs Sourabh Varma Both the players played equally well in the first game. But after the second break, Ivanov of Mumbai Masters played some outstanding badminton and took the game away from the Indian shuttler, winning it 21-16. Verma failed badly to return the swift smashes of Ivanov and that was the major difference between both the players. Ivanov continued his dominance in the second game as well and beat Verma 21-14. Ivanov, who defeated ace Indian shuttler Parupalli Kashyap in their opening game of men's singles is having a dream tournament! Both the teams have won their first tie and would like to continue their winning streak. ==================================================================================== Krrish Delhi Smashers beats Hyderabad Hotshots 3-2 Match 5: V.Diju/Prajakta defeats Shem God/Gadre 21-20, 21-15 In the final and deciding game 5, V.Diju/Prajakta of Krrish Delhi Smashers beat Shem God/Gadre in straight sets 21-20, 21-15. Though God/Gadre gave them a tough fight in both the sets, but eventually lost the game. And with this win Krrish Delhi Smashers finally managed to win their first tie. ==================================================================================== Match 4: Daren Liew defeats Taufik Hidayat 21-10, 21-7 Taufik lost in the first set 21-10 to Liew. Taufik hasn’t played up to his reputation in the first set and gave it away without putting much of an effort. In the second set Taufik didn’t even manage to give a fight to Liew and lost the second set as well by 21-7. And with this win Krrish Delhi Smashers managed to equal the tie 2-2. So the final will be a do-or-die situation for both the teams. ==================================================================================== Match 3: Koo/ Tan defeats Shem/ Tarun Third game was a crucial one for the Krissh Delhi Smashers as they lost thier first two games. But the pair of Koo and Tan outplayed their opponents and won in straight sets by 21-14 and 21-20 to make this tie alive against Hyderabad Hotshots. ==================================================================================== Match 2: Saina Nehwal defeats Arundhati Pantawane: 21-6, 21-8 Set2:Saina took the lead of 5-0 at the start of the 2nd set. Now the Olympic bronze medallist has started toying with her opponent. Arundhati is clueless at the moment and before going for the first break Saina was leading 7-1. Saina went even further with her lead and took the score to 13-5. Arundhati somehow managed to earn a few points after the second break but eventually Saina won the game 21-8 and the game as well. Set1: Saina is playing against the number one ranked Indian shuttler Arundhati. In the first set Saina was leading 7-5 before going for the first break. Then Saina took the lead of 12-5. Saina is not getting any challenge from Arundhati. And She was leading 14-5 before going for the second the break. ==================================================================================== Match 1:Tanongsak Saensomboonuk defeats Sai Praneeth 21-19, 21-19 Set3: After trailing 5-1 Praneeth tried to make a comeback but Tanongsak eventually managed to beat the Indian by 11-7 in the third and final set. Set2: In the second set both the players displayed excellent skills but at the end Tanongsak won the set to level the tie 1-1 after beating Praneeth 21-19. Set 1:After a long rally Tanongsak managed to get the first point. Both are using their smashes with good effect. And before going for the first break score line was 7-6 in Praneeth favour. Praneeth is deceptive in his play and mixing his smashes and drops quite well. But Tanongsak is giving a tough to Praneeth and even was taken the lead of 14-10 before going for the second break. . After reaching 19-19, Praneeth earned two straight points to win the first set. Jwala Gutta of Krrish Delhi Smashers is not going to play the tie Today against Hyderabad Hotshots. Due to shoulder injury she will only cheer her team from outside. ==================================================================================== Lucknow: Welcome to the live coverage of Day 3 of the Indian Badminton League (IBL). After a day’s break, the teams will be charged up for their second ties. CHECK OUT: Five things you must know about IBL» Today, Krrish Delhi Smashers will take on Hyderabad Hotshots, while Mumbai Masters will take on Pune Pistons at Babu Banarasi Das UP Badminton Academy in Lucknow. After losing to Pune Pistons in the first match, Krrish Delhi Smashers will be looking to get back to the track against the Hyderabad Hotshots. The in-form Sai Praneeth of Krissh Delhi Smashers is expected to pull up yet another win to lift up his teams expectations. Doubles pairing of Kien Keat Koo/Boon Hoeng Tan are also expected to win their match against their opponents. While for the Hyderabad hotshots, their biggest strength is Saina Nehwal. After her win over PV Sindhu in last game, she should easily be able to demolish her opponent in today’s game. ALSO READ: Time to make IBL smash hit» Squad Hyderabad Hotshots: Saina Nehwal (India), Taufik Hidayat (Indonesia), Ajay Jayaram (India), V Shem Goh (Malaysia), Tarun Kona (India), Pradnya Gadre (India), Khim Wah Lim (Malaysia), Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (Thailand), Kanthi Visalakshi (India), Subhankar Dey (India) Krrish Delhi Smashers: Nichaon Jindapon (Thailand), Boon Hoeng Tan (Malaysia), Jwala Gutta (India), Daren Liew (Malaysia), Kien Keat Koo (Malaysia), HS Prannoy (India), Sai Praneeth (India), Arundhati Pantawane (India), V Diju (India), Prajakta Sawant (India) Stay on this page for all live updates of Day 3 of IBL.