There is no place like home, especially if life on the road has taken its toll. Banga Beats, travel-weary after an insipid run in the IBL so far, will finally seek to rejuvenate itself in familiar conditions.
Staring down the barrel after a demoralising 4-1 loss at Pune in its previous tie, the team will look to get its campaign back on track, when it takes on the Krrish Delhi Smashers at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Sunday.
With eight points from three matches, the Banga Beats finds itself in danger of not making the semifinals.
“We’re looking at this as a must-win tie. It will be good to play at home and have the crowd on our side,” said chief coach, U. Vimal Kumar on Saturday.
Against Pune Pistons on Friday, the team’s two best players — P. Kashyap and World No.5 Hu Yun — suffered shock defeats.
The reliable Carolina Marin went down in the ladies singles as well, and the coach admitted that the meek surrender was a “disastrous result”. “The morale was low, but we are now looking forward to the remaining two ties. We need at least a 3-2 win against Delhi to stay in contention for a semifinal spot,” Vimal said.
Krrish Delhi Smashers arrive in Bangalore with no chance of finishing in the top-four.
Banga Beats will do well to field its icon player Kashyap in the first singles match, which could be against either Sai Praneeth or Daren Liew.
The move to keep Kashyap for the second singles match against the Pune Pistons backfired. In this crucial tie, an early victory can do wonders.
