Bengaluru Buddies shocks Chennai Strikers

The Strikers were sitting pretty at 2-1, after Bengaluru-based Vidya Pillai notched up two points for her team, pairing up first with Pankaj Advani to win the Mixed Doubles Snooker match and then with Pandurangaiah from Nellore to win the Mixed Double Pool match as well. 

But in a dramatic Icon Match, Darren Morgan (Wales) stunned Pankaj literally with just a few seconds to go to make it 2-all. In the decider, the snooker singles shootout, Laxman Rawat cruised to a 42-0 victory against Dharmender Lilly (Punjab) to clinch the tie for the Buddies. 

The Buddies got off to a winning start, with Sundeep Gulati (Delhi) trouncing veteran Dharmender Lilly (Punjab) in straight frames in the 9-ball pool contest. 

The mixed doubles encounter, thereafter, was a game of patience and nerves, with both teams opting to play safe. Pankaj Advani and Vidya Pillai kept Darren Morgan (Wales) and Anastasia Anachaeva (Russia) on their toes, running neck to neck till 9-9. 

At that point, Morgan whipped out a perfect snook to create a nice opening for his partner. They notched up 10 points to win the frame 19-7. 

The second frame too was all about skill and strategy. The score card moved slowly as both pairs had to be content with the reds. But Pankaj pulled off a brown to take a slender 10-8 lead. It was enough to fetch the Strikers the frame and take the game to the decider.