Hyderabad Strikers to meet Mumbai Leon Army in Tennis Premier League final

Hyderabad Strikers and Mumbai Leon Army have entered the final of the Tennis Premier League (TPL) at the Celebration Club in Mumbai on Saturday.

Both Hyderabad Strikers and Mumbai Leon Army scored narrow, identical 42-38 victories over Chennai Stallions and defending champions Pune Jaguars respectively in the semi-finals.

Interestingly, both matches were tied 30-30 after three rubbers and it was the men’s doubles that decided both outcomes.

Karman Kaur once again gave the Strikers a positive start, edging past Samantha Sharan 11-9, also avenging her defeat to the Brit on the league stage. With a final berth at stake, both players made shaky starts to the game, but it was Karman’s bigger serve that held her in good stead. The lead changed hands a couple of times before Karman took control and closed out the match.

Siddharth, unbeaten in the tournament, looked on course to give the Stallions the advantage when he raced to a 8-4 lead against Arjun Kadhe.

However, a couple of loose shots from Rawat gave Kadhe a chance to narrow the lead. He then came up with some sharp net play when trailing 8-10 to level the scores at 10-10.

Ramkumar R and Niki Poonacha

Hyderabad Strikers beat Chennai Stallions in semi-final

Hyderabad Strikers prevailed over Chennai Stallions 42-38 in the first semifinal. Purav Raja and Samantha once again showed their doubles prowess when they beat Vishnu Vardhan and Karman 11-9 to level the match at 30-30 after three rubbers.

But the final men’s doubles was a bit of a letdown for the Stallions as the stronger pairing of Vardhan and Kadhe ran away with the game.

Opening up a 7-1 lead, they were never threatened and once they reached 11, the match was settled. The Strikers finally won the doubles 12-8 and the match 42-38.

Rutuja Bhosle and Sowjanya Bavisetti played a 10-10 tie in the opening women’s singles of the second semis. Ramkumar raced to a 8-2 lead against Saketh, raising hopes of a big lead for Mumbai. But Saketh dug deep, making his big serve count. He also attacked Ramkumar’s serve and won 7 points on the trot to lead 9-8.

However, Ramkumar responded with an ace and a wide serve to wrest back the lead at 10-9, before Myneni served an ace of his own to tie it at 10-10.

After the mixed doubles also ended 10-10, it was Poonacha and Ramkumar who proved the stronger pair in the men’s doubles, winning 12-8 to seal the tie.

Ramkumar and Niki Poonacha

RESULTS (Semifinals)

Hyderabad Strikers beat Chennai Stallions

(Karman Kaur bt Samantha Sharan 11-9; Arjun Kadhe tied with Siddharth Rawat 10-10; Vishnu/Karman lost to Purav Raja/Samantha 9-11; Vishnu/Kadhe bt Raja/Rawat).

Mumbai Leon Army Pune Jaguars (Sowjanya Bavisetti tied with Rutuja Bhosle 10-10; Ramkumar R tied with Saketh M 10-10; Sowjanya/Niki Poonacha tied with Ishaque Eqbal/Rutuja 10-10)

Hyderabad Strikers bt Pune Jaguars 45-35 (Karman Kaur bt Rutuja Bhosle 12-8; Arjun Kadhe lost to Ishaque Eqbal 9-11; Vishnu Vardhan/Karman bt Saketh M/Rutuja 12-8; Varshan/Kadhe bt Saketh/Ishaque 12-8)

(Friday): Rajasthan Tigers bt Gujarat Panthers 41-39 (Diana Marcinkevica bt Valeryla Strakhova 11-9; Prajnesh G bt Vijay Sundar 12-8; Aryan Goveas/Diana lost to Dhivij Sharan/Valeryla 6-14; Prajnesh/Aryan bt Dhivij/Vijay 12-8)

Bengaluru Spartans tied with Delhi Binny’s Brigade 40-40 (Sabina Sharipova bt Peangtran Plipuech 11-9; Sriram Balaji bt Yuki Bhambri 12-8; Jeevan N/Sabina lost to Manish S/Peangtarn 5-15; Jeevan/Balaji bt Manish/Bhambri 12-8).