Kolkata Thunderbolts fall short against Chennai Blitz in five-set thriller

Kolkata Thunderbolts went down fighting against Chennai Blitz in a five-set thrilling match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai on Thursday at the Prime Volleyball League.

Raman Kumar delivered a top performance against the former champions with 14 attack points and named as the Player of the Match to secure a five-set (14-16,21-20, 15-5, 17-19, 15-8) win for his club.

The match started with Sudheer Shetty went toe-to-toe with Akhin GS with the battle of the middles. Vinit Kumar from Zone 2 attacked well, while Ashwal Rai dominated from the middle for the Thunderbolts.

But Chennai's Raman's offensive moves kept the game in balance. With Vinit's powerful spike, the Thunderbolts edged just ahead in the intensely-close battle. Kolkata started benefiting from Prabhakaran's aggressive play, but the in-form Dhilip Kumar kept Blitz on the Thunderbolts' toes.

The duo of Ashwal and Vinit became a hard puzzle for Chennai to crack, but a crucial super point win changed their fortunes. Sameer's quick thinking brought the Chennai back into the contest.

Raman's powerful spikes started threatening Kolkata as the game progressed. A few unforced errors and a minor miscommunication from Kolkata allowed Chennai to widen the gap. Vinit continued his roaring form to try and shackle the opposition with consistent attacks and open the gateway back for Kolkata.

The aggressive Thunderbolts pushed the match to a final set with Ashwal's spike. Chennai's defensive game only improved in the final set and Joel Benjamin's contribution in attacks provided a path for Blitz to get the win.

Kolkata Thunderbolts still lying on the bottom of the table with zero points from the three matches while Chennai Blitz take their third consecutive win to maintain their place in top 2.