Hyderabad, 25 February 2022: The Kolkata Thunderbolts produced a power-packed performance to take down Calicut Heroes 16-14, 15-10, 17-15 in the second Semi-Final of the RuPay Prime Volleyball League at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday. The Kolkata Thunderbolts will face Ahmedabad Defenders in the Final of the competition on Sunday, 27 February 2022. Kolkata Thunderbolts’ Vinit Kumar was adjudged the Player of the Match.
Captain Jerome Vinith pulled off a few spectacular spikes as the Heroes took the lead at 12-8 in the first set. However, Vinit Kumar and Matthew August showed their brilliance as the Thunderbolts leveled the scores at 12-12. Thereafter, both sides played out a hard-fought contest before Rahul produced a magnificent serve to help Kolkata close out the first set at 16-14.
August and Rahul carried out brilliant spikes as the Thunderbolts held the edge at 10-7 in the second set. Vinith tried to keep the Heroes in the contest, but August effected a fantastic block to help Kolkata win a Super Point and take a massive lead at 14-9. The Thunderbolts eventually closed out the second set at 15-10 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Skipper Vinith and David Lee stood tall as the Heroes took a massive lead at 7-0 in the third set. However, Rahul K produced two Super Serves to help Kolkata level the scores at 11-11. But Vinith’s spike and Lee’s block ensured that the Heroes stayed in the lead at 13-12. However, through August’s spectacular efforts in the blocking and spiking department, Kolkata had a match point at 15-14. After the Heroes saved one match point, the Thunderbolts utilized a review to successfully overturn a line call to clinch the crucial last point. They closed out the third set at 17-15 to book a place in the Final.
The Ahmedabad Defenders will take on Kolkata Thunderbolts in the Final at 1850 hrs on Sunday, 27 February 2022.
For match and practice images from the RuPay Prime Volleyball League, Click Here – https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1YIVbKieWHgt8S7O63eBIPqtoj8NZr2AR
Watch the RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23, LIVE and Exclusive on SONY TEN 1, SONY TEN 2 (Malayalam), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) and SONY TEN 4 (Tamil and Telugu). The RuPay Prime Volleyball League is exclusively marketed by Baseline Ventures, the leading sports marketing firm in the nation. RuPay, the first-of-its-kind Global Card payment network from India, has come on board as the Title Sponsor of the RuPay Prime Volleyball League and Fantasy games leaders A23 have signed on as “Powered By” Sponsors in a multi-year deal.
Byju’s, Cred, Dafa News, EatFit, Amul Kool and Nippon Paint have come on board as Associate Sponsors and Cosco & Apollo Hospitals have associated with the RuPay Prime Volleyball League as the Official Partners. ShareChat and Moj are the Official Content Partners of the RuPay Prime Volleyball League.
The RuPay Prime Volleyball League will feature a total of 24 matches.
