Chennai spike Maratha Warriors

BANGALORE: Having enjoyed a free ride by the hosts on Monday evening, Chennai Spikers proved they can win without any help from their rivals with a brilliant all-round show on the third day of the inaugural Indian Volley League.
At the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium on Tuesday, long before the evening crowd could troop in, Chennai scored an annihilating 3-0 win over the hitherto undefeated Maratha Warriors.The 60-minute victory, their second in three matches, also kept their hopes of winning the first-leg alive.
Setter Kapil Dev was the architect of Chennai's splendid win. His handling of the match was spot on, using the resources at hand with aplomb. Attacker Prabhakaran, who was patchy against the Bulls on Monday, came into his own with thundering winners, more so from the backcourt.
Prabhakaran, Mandeep and the left-handed Ragesh, besides their kills, gave the Warriors defence a torrid time with their power-packed jump serves. With the Warriors' first pass in total disarray, there was nothing much their setter Balwinder Singh, nor his replacement Anil Kumar Edelli, could do as Chennai wrapped up the match without breaking into a sweat.
Chargers outclass Bulls
Later in the day, it was Hyderabad Chargers' turn to hand Karnataka Bulls - who are performing like the way the Royal Challengers Bangalore did in the inaugural edition of IPL - a 3-1 defeat on Tuesday.
Chargers, who suffered a meltdown against Kerala Killers on Monday, upped their game against a charged up Bulls. In a match that could have gone either way, Chargers did just about enough to clinch the first two sets.
In the third, despite their key player, Sanjay Kumar, sitting out with a back injury he sustained in the second set while going for a kill, Bulls came roaring back to pull one back. Anup D'Costa, who came in for Sanjay, played his heart out, and Vikram upped his game a notch to help Bulls take the third set.
However, the Bulls' joy was short-lived as Chargers tightened their blocks against a team that was questioning the referee's calls constantly.