Mustwin for Banga Beats

Bangalore (PTI): Hosts Banga Beats have a humongous task of winning their last two ties with big margins to remain in semifinals hunt as they clash with laggards Krrish Delhi Smashers in their penultimate round tie of the Indian Badminton League (IBL), here on Sunday. Beats were rusty against Pune Pistons, losing 1-4 and now stand fifth in the table with just eight points.

Awadhe Warriors also have eight points but they are placed above the Bangalore side. Beats now not only have to win their remaining matches but also pray that some of other results go in their favour. It will be a good chance for Beats to bring their campaign back on track as they face struggling Smashers, who are coming into the tie following a 1-4 defeat against Awadhe Warriors. After that they face formidable table-toppers Hyderabad Hotshots, and hence their win against Smashers with a huge margin becomes imperative.

Playing their first game at home, the Beats would look to give their fans something to cheer about. Top-notch players including Parupalli Kashyap and Hu Yun, will be looking to forget their below-par performance against Pistons and do better before home crowd. Both of them disappointed as they suffered upset defeats against Anup Sridhar and Sourabh Varma. Beats also need Carsten Mogensen and Akshay Dewalkar, who lost against the pair of Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Kiong Tan Wee, to fire again.

However, Kashyap's form still remains a worrying sign for the Beats. He will have to live upto his billing in his next game if he needs to prove his worth as an icon player. The mixed doubles combination of Aparna Balan and Dewalkar is not the best in the business and it will also be a concern for the Beats. Two defeats have made it tough for Smashers, who are now languishing last in the table.