BENGALURU, PUNJAB, BENGAL, AND DELHI SECURE A SPOT IN THE SEMI-FINALS

THE LEAGUE STAGE OF SEASON 5 OF THE TENNIS PREMIER LEAGUE CAME TO AN END

Khel Today Bureau 

Pune: The fifth day of the Tennis Premier League (TPL) powered by Clear season 5 saw a series of enthralling matches being played out on the day as the league stage came to an end and the top four teams booked their berth in the semi-finals of season 5.

The round of fixtures on Day 5 of the Tennis Premier League began with a highly anticipated clash between Hyderabad Strikers and Delhi Binny’s Brigade. The match started with the Women’s Singles Category as Ellen Perez of Hyderabad Strikers went up against Sahaja Yamalapalli of Delhi Binny’s Brigade. The game ended 12-8 in favour of the Hyderabad Strikers. It was followed by the Men’s Single Category which saw Niki Poonacha of Hyderabad Strikers go up against Denis Novak of Delhi Binny’s Brigade, the clash ended in favour of the Hyderabad Strikers with a score of 12-8. Ellen Perez and Saketh Myneni of the Hyderabad Strikers played against Sahaja Yamalapalli and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan of the Delhi Binny’s Brigade in the Mixed Doubles Category, which ended in 6-14 in favour of Delhi. In the Men’s Doubles Category, Saketh Myneni and Niki Poonacha of Hyderabad Strikers came out on top in the clash against Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Dennis Novak of Delhi Binny’s Brigade, as the match ended 9-11. Delhi Binny’s Brigade won the fixture against Hyderabad Strikers as it ended, 39-41 in their favour. Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan of Delhi Binny’s Brigade was awarded Player of the Match.

The second match of the day was between Pune Jaguars and Punjab Patriots. The Punjab Patriots’ co-owner, Taapsee Pannu was cheering her team on from the dugout. Diana Marcinkevica of Pune Jaguars went up against Conny Perrin of Punjab Patriots. Conny Perrin prevailed over Diana as the game ended 6-14 in favour of the Swiss player. It was followed by the Men’s Singles category, where Lukas Rosol of Pune Jaguars beat Digvijay Pratap Singh of the Punjab Patriots, which ended 13-7 in favour of Rosol. Diana Marcinkevica and Rithvik Bollipalli of the Pune Jaguars drew with Conny Perrin and Arjun Khade of the Punjab Patriots in the Mixed Doubles category, which ended 10-all. The final game of the match was the Men’s Doubles Doubles category, in which Rithvik Bollipalli and Lukas Rosol of the Pune Jaguar lost to Digvijay Pratap Singh and Arjun Khade of the Punjab Patriots, with a score of 8-12. Punjab Patriots came out on top after the match ended 37-43. Conny Perrin of Punjab Patriots was awarded player of the match.

The third fixture was between the Mumbai Leon Army and the Bengaluru SG Mavericks. The Brand ambassador of the Mumbai Leon Army, Sonu Sood was present in his team’s dugout to motivate his team. The fixture was kicked off by Sowjanya Bavisetti of Mumbai Leon Army taking on Arina Rodionova of Bengaluru SG Mavericks. The game ended 9-11 in favour of Arina. The Men’s Singles category saw Ernests Gulbis of the Mumbai Leon Army taking on Ramkumar Ramanathan of the Bengaluru SG Mavericks, which ended 5-15 in favour of the Mavericks. The game was followed by the Mixed Doubles, where Sowjanya Bavisetti and Vijay Sundar Prashanth of the Mumbai Leon Army went up against Arina Rodionova and Vishnu Vardhan from Bengaluru SG Mavericks. Bengaluru emerged victorious after the game ended 9-11. The fixture was closed out with the Men’s Doubles in which Karan Singh and Vijay Sundar Prashanth of Mumbai Leon Army beat Ramkumar Ramanathan and Vishnu Vardhan from Bengaluru SG Mavericks after the tie 11-9. The Bengaluru SG Mavericks beat the Mumbai Leon Army as the match ended 34-46. Ramkumar Ramanathan of the Bengaluru SG Mavericks was awarded the Player of the Match.

The fourth fixture on Day 5 was the last match of the league stage and was played between the Gujarat Panthers and Bengal Wizards. Ekaterina Yashina of the Gujarat Panthers clashed with Maria Timofeeva from Bengal Wizards, which saw the Panthers come out on top with a score of 11-9. The game was followed by the Men’s Singles Category in which Sumit Nagal of the Gujarat Panthers lost to Sriram Balaji of the Bengal Wizards as the tie ended 9-11. The next category was that of the Mixed Doubles in which Ekaterina Yashina and Mukund Sasikumar of the Gujarat Panthers locked horns with Maria Timofeeva and Anirudh Chandrasekar of the Bengal Wizards. The Mixed Doubles category ended in favour of the Bengal Wizards after the game ended 7-13. The day was closed out by the Men’s Doubles category in which Sumit Nagal and Mukund Sasikumar of Gujarat Panthers beat Sriram Balaji and Anirudh Chandrasekar of the Bengal Wizards after the clash ended 8-12. The Wizards emerged victorious against the Gujarat Panthers after the fixture ended 35-45 to close out the fifth day of season 5 of the Tennis Premier League. Sriram Balaji of the Bengal Wizards was awarded the Player of the Match.

The Balewadi Stadium in Pune pulsed with electrifying energy as rivals collided in epic battles on the final day of the league stage. Bengaluru SG Mavericks ended at the top of the table as the league stage came to a close, with 219 points. The Bengal Wizards ended the league stage in the second spot in their first-ever TPL season with 209 points. Punjab Patriots put in consistent performances during the league stage to secure the third spot in the table with 207 points. Delhi Binny’s Brigade ended the league stage in the fourth spot with 201 points. Hyderabad Strikers ended their season 5 campaign in the fifth spot with 199 points, while Gujarat Panthers finished sixth with 192 points. The Mumbai Leon Army amassed 190 points by the end of the league stage and came in seventh. The Pune Jaguars ended their league campaign in the eighth spot with 183 points.

The Bengaluru SG Mavericks, Bengal Wizards, Punjab Patriots, and Delhi Binny’s Brigade secured their spots in the semi-finals after they finished the league stage occupying the top 4 spots. The first semi-final will witness the Bengal Wizards clash with Delhi Binny’s Brigade, while the second semi-final will be played between the Bengaluru SG Mavericks and the Punjab Patriots.