Tennis Premier League: Bengaluru Spartans dethrone Hyderabad Strikers to take top spot on Day 2

Pune (Maharashtra) [India], December 10 : The second day of the Tennis Premier League (TPL) season 4 saw a series of enthralling matches being played out on the day.
The first day saw Hyderabad Strikers end on top of the table as they looked well placed to defend their title from last year. But Day 2 of season 4 of the Tennis Premier League on Thursday had some surprises in store for all teams and spectators, as per a release from TPL.
The round of fixtures on day 2 of the Tennis Premier League began with a highly anticipated clash between Hyderabad Strikers and Bengaluru Spartans. The match started with the Women's Singles Category as Karman Kaur Thandi of Bengaluru Spartans went up against Conny Perrin of Finecab Hyderabad Strikers. The game ended 14-6 in favour of Conny Perrin.
It was followed by the Men's Single Category which saw Siddharth Rawat of Bengaluru Spartans go up against Nikki Poonacha of Hyderabad Strikers, the tie ended in favour of the Bengaluru Spartans as it ended 12-8.
Siddharth Rawat and Vishnu Vardhan of Bengaluru Spartans played against Nikki Poonacha and Sriram Balaji of Hyderabad Strikers in the Men's Doubles Category, which ended in a 10-all draw.
Vishnu Vardhan and Karman Kaur Thandi of the Bengaluru Spartans came out on top in the tie against Sriram Balaji and Conny Perrin of the Hyderabad Strikers, as the match ended 13-7 in favour of Bengaluru Spartans. Bengaluru Spartans won the fixture as they secured 41 points while Finecab Hyderabad Strikers amassed 39 points.
Before the game against the Gujarat Panthers, mentor of the Pune Jaguars Radhika Tulpule shared how much she is enjoying the league this season and the elite level of tennis she is getting to observe. She said, "The Boys and the Girls, they both are playing really well. We, the Pune Jaguars started with playing against probably the tougher teams. But we were at 40 all yesterday and it was quite good. Now we like to win as many upcoming fixtures as possible. Today I think the singles and the mixed doubles will make the difference for us. We put in an exceptional performance yesterday, so the performances have been good so far, I hope we can keep it going."
The second match was between Gujarat Panthers and Pune Jaguars, which was a closely contested affair.
Ankita Raina of Gujarat Panthers drew with Rutuja Bhosale of Pune Jaguars after the game ended at 10 all.
It was followed by the Men's Singles category Manish Sureshkumar of the Gujarat Panthers took on Arjun Khade of Pune Jaguars, which ended 12-8 in favour of Pune Jaguars.
Manish Sureshkumar and Divij Sharan of Gujarat Panthers went up against Arjun Khade and Vijay Kumar Prashanth of the Pune Jaguars in the Men's Doubles category, which ended in a draw as the scores were tied at 10 all.
The final tie of the game was the Mixed Doubles category, in which Ankita Raina and Divij Sharan of Gujarat Panthers beat Rutuja Bhosale and Vijay Kumar Prashanth of Pune Jaguars, with a score of 13-7. At the end of the match the Pune Jaguars had emerged victorious as they had scored 45 points whereas the Gujarat Panthers only scored 35 points.
After the second round of fixtures Owner of the Gujarat Panthers, Ramku Patgir shared his thoughts on his team's performance, as he said, "Yesterday we had a great run and we started with a positive note. We were up by 10 points so that was a really good boost and I hope we can keep the momentum going. Despite trailing in the table, we are sure that we'll bounce back and make sure that we're at least in the top four so we can play the semis and be in the finals."
The third fixture was between Chennai Stallions and Punjab Tigers. The fixture was kicked-off by Ekaterina Kazionova of the Chennai Stallions taking on Diana Marcinkevica of Punjab Tigers. The game ended 11-9 in favour of Diana Marcinkevica.
The Men's Singles category saw two international stars go up against each other in Mathias Bourge of Chennai Stallions taking on Malek Jaziri of Punjab Tigers, which ended 12-8 in favour of Mathias Bourge.
The tie was followed by the Men's Doubles. Mathias Bourge and Anirudh Chandershekhar of Chennai Stallions went up against Denis Istomin and Malek Jaziri of Punjab Tigers, in which Chennai Stallions emerged victorious after the tie ended 13-7.
The fixture was closed out with the Mixed Doubles in which Ekaterina Kazionova and Anirudh Chandershekhar represented Chennai Stallions and beat Denis Istomin and Diana Marcinkevica of Punjab Tigers after the tie ended 14-6. Chennai Stallions beat Punjab Tigers as the match ended 48-32 in favour of the Stallions.
The last fixture of Day 2 was between Delhi Binny's Brigade and Mumbai Leon Army. Sowjanya Bavisetti of Delhi Binny's Brigade clashed with Valeriya Strakhova of Mumbai Leon Army, which saw Valeriya come out on top with a score of 14-6.
Mohamed Aziz Dougaz of Delhi Binny's Brigade lost to Ramkumar Ramanathan of Mumbai Leon Army as the tie ended 11-9 in favour of Mumbai Leon Army.
Mohamed Aziz Dougaz and Siddhanth Banthia of Delhi Binny's Brigade went up against Ramkumar Ramanathan and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan of Mumbai Leon Army. The Men's Double tie ended in favour of Mumbai Leon Army, after the tie ended 11-9.
The day was closed out by the Mixed Doubles category in which Siddhanth Banthia and Sowjanya Bavisetti represented Delhi Binny's Brigade who lost to Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Valeriya Strakhova of Mumbai Leon Army, after the tie ended 11-9.
Mumbai Leon Army emerged victorious against Delhi Binny's Brigade after the fixture ended 49-31 to close out the second day of season 4 of the Tennis Premier League.
Day 2 witnessed some blockbuster clashes on the court at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune. There were some changes in the overall league table too. Bengaluru Spartans jumped to the top of the table as they had amassed 88 points by the end of Day 2. They are closely followed by Hyderabad Strikers who sit 2nd in the table with 87 points. Pune Jaguars sit 3rd after the fixtures on Day 2 with 85 points with Mumbai Leon Army right on their heels with 84 points.
Chennai Stallions and Gujarat Panthers sit 5th and 6th in the table respectively after Day 2 with 80 points apiece. Delhi Binny's Brigade sit 7th in the table with 71 points. Punjab Tigers had slipped to the foot of the table as the newest franchise of the Tennis Premier League had managed to score 65 points by the end of Day 2.