CHENNAI: The contest between Calicut Heroes and Bengaluru Torpedoes in the third season of the RuPay Prime Volleyball League lived up to its billing on Wednesday at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai. After a cracker of a game, Bengaluru emerged victorious getting a 14-16, 19-17, 13-15, 15-10, 15-11 win. Sethu TR was named the Player of the Match.
Sethu continued his form with the serve, and he built pressure from the service line. But Calicut showed they can fire from the base line as well, with Chirag in charge. Pankaj Sharma’s attacking movements troubled Calicut defence but unforced errors kept hurting Bengaluru’s momentum. Chirag’s pipe attacks helped Calicut take an early lead.
While Sethu kept troubling Calicut with aggressive serves, Chirag’s spikes kept posing questions for the Torpedoes. Mujeeb’s defensive prowess helped Bengaluru get back into the contest. Sethu remained unstoppable, but Ukkra started setting up middle blockers Danial and Shafeeque for spikes, helping Calicut regain control. Ibin Jose provided a new attacking edge and Bengaluru, with consecutive super point wins, pushed the game the final set.
Jerome started finding his feet in attacks at the right time, but there was no way to halt Sethu on the night. Ibin rocked Calicut defence with thunderous serves, while Jishnu justified his substitution, putting on monstrous blocks to shackle the opposition. Under pressure, Calicut made unforced errors, and the Torpedoes sealed a cracking win with Sethu’s special spike.