PBL 2018-19: 5 stand out performances from the current season

Premier Badminton League season 4 was a treat to watch. Bengaluru Raptors came out on top in the end deservedly, with Awadhe Warriors, Hyderabad Hunters, and Mumbai Rockets giving their all in a futile attempt to stop them from securing the title.

Pune 7 Aces enjoyed a good debut season in which they narrowly missed out on making it to the knockout stages. Chennai Smashers and Ahmedabad Smash Masters had an average season, while both Delhi Dashers and North Eastern Warriors had a season to forget.

While the first leg of the league stage witnessed a lot of favorites getting stunned by young aces, normality was restored from the second leg with Kidambi Srikanth going unbeaten the whole season. PV Sindhu, Victor Axelsen, Saina Nehwal, Sameer Verma, Son Wan Ho, Carolina Marin, etc. found themselves on the wrong side of upsets.

Let's look at the 5 best stand-out performances from the recently concluded season.

#1 Sameer Verma VS Bengaluru Raptors (Final)

Bengaluru Raptors were leading 3-2 and needed just a solitary victory to win the title while Mumbai Rockets needed to win both of their matches to become champions.

In the first game, 4 unforced errors from Sameer Verma meant that his opponent B Sai Praneeth led 8-1 at the break and eventually won the first game 15-7. Verma determined to prove his mettle led 6-4 in the second game but the experienced Praneeth took a lead of 8-7 at the break. Verma clawed back in the match tiring out Praneeth physically and mentally using long rallies and powerful smashes and won the second game 15-12.

In the decider, Sameer led 5-3 against a tired-looking Sai Praneeth and won 10 consecutive points to win the match and give the Rockets a chance to win the PBL Season 4 title.