Bengaluru Torpedoes delivered arguably their best performance of the RuPay Prime Volleyball League Powered by A23 Season 2 in the semi-final clash, beating defending champions Kolkata Thunderbolts to become the first team to qualify for the ultimate showdown.
Riding on captain Pankaj Sharma’s one-man show, Bengaluru gave Kolkata a harsh reality check to send a clear message that they are no pushovers.
In all fairness, Bengaluru’s journey in the second season of the Prime Volleyball League has been nothing short of a sheer rollercoaster ride. The team, however, overcame every obstacle to defy all odds stacked against them.
On that note, let’s take a detailed look at their journey of how they went from being the underdogs to the finalists.
A shaky start
Bengaluru Torpedoes began their Prime Volleyball League Season 2 journey with a disappointing 2-3 defeat at the hands of Kolkata Thunderbolts. The Ashwal Rai-led side were simply the better team in almost all departments which explained why it took them just the first three sets to win the match.
Pankaj Sharma and Co. were expected to do a bit better when they played Ahmedabad Defenders in their second league stage match. As it turns out, another 2-3 defeat followed which put them in a rather difficult situation.
Big names took the matter in their own hands
On paper, Bengaluru’s attack is up there with the very best, but what the team lacked was the combination play. So when they took the court against Mumbai Meteors, the likes of Tsvetelin Tsvetanov and Ibin Jose stood up to guide their team to a stunning 4-1 win.
The Torpedoes upped the ante in the next couple of games, beating Chennai Blitz and Kochi Blue Spikers 3-2 in consecutive outings to affirm their stature of being the playoff favourites.
Chink in the armour
Three wins on the trot and Bengaluru looked like a team to beat. However, as they took on Hyderabad Black Hawks on their own turf, the defence crumbled to sustain the pressure of a certain Guru Prashant. The Hyderabad captain took note of each of Bengaluru’s defensive frailties to put a major dent in their playoff hopes.
Surprisingly, this defeat did make the Torpedoes overly reliant on the results of the games to follow.
Now, a stunning 3-2 win over Calicut Heroes in the final league stage match was indeed a positive sign but in order to get a place in the playoffs, they needed Kochi Blue Spikers to win at least one set against Mumbai Meteors. Destiny as one may call it, the Spikers not only won a set but went on to beat the Meteors 4-1 to finish their dull season on a high.
Everybody loves an underdog
With Bengaluru now confirmed of a fourth-place finish, they squared off against league leaders Kolkata Thunderbolts for a place in the final. Judging by their previous outing, the money was on Kolkata’s win. After all, they had lost a solitary game in the league stage of the season.
After a quick one-two in the opening sets, Bengaluru began to test their opponent’s resilience to an extent that they gave Kolkata no chance to mark a comeback. Overwhelmed with joy, Bengaluru sent a firm message to all those who branded them as the second favourites on the night.
Bengaluru Torpedoes results in RuPay Prime Volleyball League Powered by A23 Season 2:
League stage:
BT 2:3 KTB
BT 2:3 AMD
BT 4:1 MM
BT 3:2 CB
BT 3:2 KBS
BT 2:3 HBH
BT 3:2 CH
Semi-final
BT 3:1 KTB
