Zee Media Bureau/Suyash Srivastava
Mumbai: The tournament started with the much-awaited clash between Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu and after a successful tournament, we saw a key contest between the two players in the final of the Indian Badminton League which was once again won by Saina in straight sets.
Saina was looking extremely confident after winning six matches on the trot. Sindhu on the other hand made too many errors and lost the focus at regular intervals.
Sindhu wasn't quick on the court and Saina made full use of it as she also aimed at Sindhu's backhand, creating opportunities for her smashes.
After the match, Saina thanked her fans and said, "I would like to thank my fans. I think it was because of them that I won."
Saina kept her unbeaten record in the tournament intact and won her seventh successive match in the Indian Badminton League.
With her victory, Saina also took at tie to 1-1 against Awadhe Warriors after K Srikanth of Awadhe Warriors ended Hyderbad Hotshots' S Tanongsak's winning streak 21-12, 21-20.
====================================================================================
2nd GAME: SAINA wins it 21-7
# Saina seals the game with a cross court drop shot, 21-7.
# Sindhu's forehand goes way wide, 20-7, match point for Saina.
# Sindhu loses another point, 19-7.
# Sindhu's return of serve is short, 18-7.
# Sindhu once again plays a loose shot, 17-7.
# Sindhu wins a point, 7-16.
# Sindhu's forehand once again goes wide, 16-6.
# Sindhu's smash goes wide, 15-6.
# Good judgement from Saina, Sindhu's shot goes long, 14-6 lead for Saina at the second break.
# Saina's backhand goes wide, 6-13.
# Saina misses an easy opportunity to hit a winner, 5-13.
# Body smash from Saina once again, 13-4.
# Sindhu's return of smash goes wide, 12-4.
# Another point for Saina, 11-4.
# Saina's smash goes wide, 4-10.
# Sindhu's drop shot now goes wide, Saina leads 10-3.
# Sindhu's smash goes wide, 9-3.
# Good cross court backhand from Sindhu, 3-8.
# Wrong judgement from Saina, 2-8.
# Sindhu's shot once again hits the net, 8-1 Saina leads.
# Another point for Saina, she now leads 7-1 at the first break of the second game. Sindhu seems to have lost her concentration in the second gamem whereas Saina is looking all set to keep her unbeaten record intact.
# Saina wins another point, 6-1.
# Sindhu's backhand goes long, 5-1 lead for Saina.
# Sindhu's shot hits the net, 4-1.
# Sindhu wins a point after an error from Saina, 1-3.
# Sindhu's shot goes long, 3-0 lead for Saina.
# Saina wins another point, 2-0.
# Saina wins the first point with a body smash, 1-0.
====================================================================================
Sindhu has shown some improvement as compared to her previous outing with Saina, but she isn't moving too well on the court and Saina is also targeting her backhand.
1st GAME: SAINA WINS IT 21-15
# Saina wins the game with a down the line smash, 21-15.
# Saina's smash hits the nets, 15-20.
# Saina's backhand shot once again goes wide, 14-20.
# Another point for Saina, game point, 20-13.
# Good rally ended when Saina's shot went wide, 13-19.
# Sindhu losing her concentration, 19-12.
# Good deception from Saina, 18-12 lead for her now.
# Saina's shot clips the nets and wins her a point, 17-12.
# Saina wins a point with a smash, 16-12.
# Sindhu's shot hits the nets, 15-12.
# Saina's shot goes wide, 12-14.
# Another point for Sindhu, 11-14.
# Good dribble from Sindhu, 10-14.
# Sindhu's drop shot is short, Saina leads 14-9 at the second break in the first game.
# Sindhu wins a point, Saina making more errors, 9-13.
# Down the line smash from Saina, 13-8.
# Good body smash from Saina, 12-8.
# Cross court smash from Sindhu, 8-11.
# Back-to-back smashes from Saina, wins a point 11-7.
# Good smash from Saina, 10-7.
# Sindhu's return of serve goes wide, 9-7.
# Another point for Sindhu, 7-8. Saina making too many errors at the moment.
# Another point for Sindhu, 6-8.
# Once again Saina hits the net, 5-8.
# Saina's backhand hits the net, 4-8.
# Sindhu fails to pick Saina's drop shot, 8-3.
# Long serve from Sindhu, Saina leads 7-3 at first break.
# Sindhu wins a point, 3-6.
# Good deception from Saina, 6-2.
# Sindhu's return of smash goes wide, 5-2.
# Point for Saina, 4-2.
# Sindhu targets Saina's backhand and delivers a winner, 2-3.
# Sindhu's shot goes long, 3-1 lead for Saina.
# Cross court smash from Saina wins her another point, 2-1.
# Sindhu wins a point, 1-1.
# Saina to serve. She wins the first point with a body smash, 1-0.
====================================================================================
Saina is yet to be beaten in the tournament as she takes on PV Sindhu, who made the entire country proud by winning the bronze medal at the Badminton World Championships.
In their first match, Sindhu was looking nervous as Saina pummelled her within no time. In the finale, Sindhu will have to come up with a new strategy against Saina, as she would be high on confidence after a terrific tournament.
Saina, the icon player for Hyderabad Hotshots won her matches against PV Sindhu (21-9, 21-8), P C Thulasi (21-7, 21-10), Julian Schenk (17-21, 21-19, 11-6), Arundhati Panthawane (21-6, 21-18) and Julian Schenk.
While Saina is the favourite to win the tournament, PV Sindhu could come up with a surprise in the final.
