Kolkata Thunderbolts and Calicut Heroes played an absolute thriller at the GMC Balayogi Indoor Stadium in Hyderabad where the latter came out on top 3-2 (15-14, 7-15, 15-11, 13-15, 15-13) in Match 13 of the RuPay Prime Volleyball League Powered by A23 Season 2.

In a contest where individual quality was prominently on display, a certain Jerome Vinith shone the most and was named the RuPay Player of the Match.

Now, it’s not that Jerome was the top scorer of the game so he was honoured with the title. In fact, he was one of three Calicut players who ended the game with 10 points in their bag. What differentiated the 30-year-old from the rest of the players was his versatility.

The opposite striker, who started his night with an unfortunate unforced error, made a series of blocks to stop Kolkata from scoring. And this remained the key for Calicut throughout the game. At the opposite end, Jerome’s striking performance was even more appealing and Kolkata seemed to have no answers to his mastery.

Judging by how the match panned out, Jerome’s presence was crucial for his team. His return of 10 points (eight in attack and one each in block and service) may look like an ordinary figure, but in all fairness, the 30-year-old’s experience played a vital role in his team’s victory.

As it turns out, Jerome made a solitary error in attack as he finished with an efficiency of 38.89 percent. Among his teammates, only Jose Antonio Sandoval had better figures (63.64 percent) in the attacking third.