The Ahmedabad Defenders had laid down the marker with three wins out of three in the RuPay Prime Volleyball League. On Saturday evening in Hyderabad, the Kolkata Thunderbolts, partnered by The Telegraph My Kolkata, first equalled and then eclipsed the Defenders to take the top spot for the first time in the PVL.
Tharun Gowda K’s emphatic ace in the fifth set wrapped up another 4-1 victory for Sunny Joseph’s men, with Ashwal Rai returning to his unstoppable best and Vinit Kumar finding the consistency that had eluded him in the first two encounters.
Vinit Kumar (right) played his best game of the PVL so far against the Bengaluru Torpedoes Courtesy: Kolkata Thunderbolts
Rai and Vinit too good for Bengaluru
In the all-important fourth set, the Kolkata Thunderbolts began with a bang before Bengaluru clawed back. The momentum seemed to be shifting after the Thunderbolts lost a super point with a faulty serve from Rai at 8-5. But Rai would soon redeem himself, bringing out the trademark spikes and sealing the next super point at 11-10. Having one blocker on Rai proved to be a naive and fatal strategy for the Torpedoes.
Powerful play from Vinit, who was crowned the man of the match, also came at the right time as the Torpedoes began to run out of steam. Despite subtlety of touch by Pankaj Sharma, Kolkata took the fourth set at 15-9 to confirm their victory.
Kolkata’s efficient blocking proved to be one of the big differences between the two teams on Saturday evening Courtesy: Kolkata Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts in cruise control
With both teams having been in action on Friday evening, it would have come as little surprise if the match had taken its time to get going. Instead, both sides came out of the blocks quickly to set up a cliffhanger of a first set. Placed on a knife edge at 9-9, the Thunderbolts’s three-man rearguard, with Rai at the centre, claimed a pivotal point to give Kolkata the edge. Even though Rahul Ramesh K messed up his serve on a super point to allow Bengaluru a way back, Mohamed Riyazudden closed out the first set in Kolkata’s favour at 15-13 with a sumptuous spike.
After blowing hot and cold against Chennai, Ashwal Rai (centre) was back to his usual unstoppable self against the Torpedoes Courtesy: Kolkata Thunderbolts
Complete domination ensued in the second set, which Kolkata won by 15-8, with the double As — Ashwal and Aravindhan S — combining to devastating effect. The Torpedoes struggled to get a foothold as wave after wave of pressure from the Thunderbolts produced some clumsy play from Bengaluru, especially at the net.
Flying with confidence following back-to-back set wins, the Thunderbolts had become complacent, even casual, in the third. The Torpedoes, no strangers to coming back from behind, sensed the drop in intensity and cashed in to clinch the third set at 15-9.
The Thunderbolts, however, did not get to the top of the table without being ruthless. That ruthlessness was restored in the fourth and fifth sets, which the Thunderbolts bagged 15-12 and 15-10, respectively.
Kolkata can now enjoy a couple of days off, before stepping back on court on Tuesday evening when they face off against the local franchise of the Hyderabad Black Hawks.
Midway through the round robin stage, the Thunderbolts have the look of potential champions. But they must not get carried away as it is always harder to remain at the top than to get there.
