Ahmedabad Defenders clinched the trophy in the second season of RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23 with a 15-7, 15-10, 18-20, 13-15, 15-8 win over the Bengaluru Torpedoes at the Regional Sports Centre, Kochi on Sunday. Angamuthu was named the player of the match for his dominating show.
LM Manoj and Nandhagopal combined early on to put blocks on Bengaluru’s attacks. As Ibin and Pankaj got involved in attacks, the Torpedoes showed they are here to fight. But with incessant attacks from Angamuthu, the Defenders maintained their composure. As skipper Muthusamy Appavu began setting up Danial and Manoj, Ahmedabad drew block errors from the Torpedoes and picked up a hefty lead.
With service pressure building, the Torpedoes struggled to run their attacking plays from the middle. Ahmedabad’s in-form defence tackled well with Bengaluru’s attack, while Angamuthu and Santhosh dismantled the Torpedoes’ momentum.
Just when it looked like Ahmedabad will run with the game, Sethu’s magic from the service line brought Bengaluru back into the business. Danial almost ended the show with his powerful spikes. But Bengaluru held themselves on, drawing errors from Ahmedabad.
Abalooch tried to use his height to bully Santhosh, but the dual block line of Santhosh and Manoj kept making crucial blocks for Ahmedabad. But with a block on Mujeeb and a magical super-serve, the Torpedoes truly brought the contest back to level pegging and pushed the match to the fifth set.
The battle between the middle Danial and Jishnu raged on in the final set. A clever block from Abalooch brought Bengaluru back into the see-saw battle. Angamuthu’s spikes kept testing the Torpedoes’ defence. A soft super-serve from Santhosh ended the contest and the Defenders closed out the final set to clinch the trophy.
The RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23 will be telecast LIVE on Sony Sports Ten 1 (English), Sony Sports Ten 3 (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 (Tamil & Telugu) & Sony Sports Ten 2 (Malayalam) channels in India and will be streamed on Volleyball World TV outside the Indian subcontinent, starting February 4, Saturday.
