IPBL: Mumbai Smashers clinch first win, Bengaluru draw with Hyderabad

A 4–2 victory over Capital Warriors Gurgaon set the tone, before Hyderabad Royals battled back to hold Bengaluru Blasters to a 3–3 draw

New Delhi: Mumbai Smashers got off the mark with a timely win in the Indian Pickleball League to keep their knockout hopes alive on Friday. A 4–2 victory over Capital Warriors Gurgaon set the tone, before Hyderabad Royals battled back to hold Bengaluru Blasters to a 3–3 draw.

World No.3 Quang Duong set Mumbai off with a ruthless 15–1 demolition of Arik Badami, but Gurgaon hit back with Stavya Bhasin and Jack Munro winning the men’s doubles 15–9.

Allison Harris then steadied Mumbai with a 15–11 win after surviving an Emilia Schmidt fightback, but Schmidt and Naimi Mehta dragged Gurgaon level again with a 15–12 women’s doubles victory. Mumbai then won the Grand Rally 21–18 win to seal their first victory of the season.

Bengaluru Blasters entered their must-win clash against already-qualified Hyderabad Royals with all guns blazing. Phuc Huynh held off a late surge from Divyanshu Kataria to take the men’s singles 15–10, before returning with teenager Arjun Singh to repeat the scoreline in the men’s doubles and push Bengaluru into a commanding 2–0 lead.

Pei Chuan Kao then produced one of Bengaluru’s finest performances of the season, recovering from an early deficit to beat Megan Fudge 15–13 and make it 3–0.

Hyderabad, however, refused to go quietly. Fudge and Shreya Chakraborty pulled one back with a 15–7 win in the women’s doubles before Hyderabad won the Grand Rally 21–19 and secured a 3–3 draw.

Gameday 5, Tie 3 between Chennai Super Warriors and Lucknow Leopards was underway at press time and will be updated in the subsequent round-up. Following the results midway, Chennai and Hyderabad will compete in the Qualifier for the Grand Finale on Saturday, with the winner progressing onward, while the loser moving to Eliminator 2.