Ivanov puts Masters ahead

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A towering personality at 6feet 4, Russian import Vladimir Ivanov pulled out his bag of tricks well in time to put it across R.M.V Gurusaidutt, winning 21-18, 20-21, 11-9 to give Mumbai Masters the opening advantage against Awadhe Warriors in their IBL contest at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Saturday.
The flamingo orange team jersey quite reflected 26-year-old Ivanov’s form in the opening game as he combined bodyline smashes and drop shots effectively.
After playing catching up initially, the 23-year-old Gurusaidutt pushed his way to lead 12-11 and tied the score at 16-all, but an error of judgment cost him a point and then on Ivanov took control of the proceedings to take the game 21-18.
Known for his fighting quality, Gurusaidutt battled back to wrestle control of the second game and held on to the lead until Ivanov closed in the gap to make it 18-all.
Tied a 20-all, it was match point for Ivanov and game point for Gurusaidutt, but the Mumbai player misjudged his drop shot at the net to hand the game to Warriors player.
In the decider, Gurusaidutt did hold sway for a while against a tiring Ivanov to take a 6-3 lead, but the Mumbai ace won three points on the trot to catch up with his opponent. A missed dropped shot while trailing 9-10, ended Gurusaidutt’s chances.

Banga Beats in fight for survival
A build-up spanning three weeks and a fan club that has travelled to venues across the country to cheer them, off-court the Banga Beats have had a lot going for them. It’s a shame that it hasn’t translated into performance — especially at crucial junctures —on court despite the team overflowing with talent.
Standing fifth in the points table and with their semi-finals hopes hanging by a thread, the U. Vimal Kumar-coached team will be under pressure to come good when they take on Krrish Delhi Smashers here.
Coming into the tie with a morale-sapping 1-4 loss to the Pune Pistons on Friday, Banga Beats will have to beat the bottom-placed Delhi outfit by a healthy margin to keep their hopes of qualifying for the knockout alive. A win will help, with the rubber against Hyderabad Hotshots scheduled for early next week, in hand.
Delhi’s lowly position will hardly be a consolation for the home side. Banga Beats, especially their top singles players P. Kashyap and Hu Yun, who will have to play out of their skins. Both suffered losses in Pune, but will have to come good.
On Friday night, Banga Beats were hammered 1-4 by hosts Pune Pistons in a crucial tie.