Thunderbolts celebrate Diwali with 3-1 win over Black Hawks

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Hyderabad, Oct 20 (PTI) Kolkata Thunderbolts returned to winning ways with a 3-1 win over Hyderabad Black Hawks in the Prime Volleyball League here on Monday.

Pankaj Sharma was named the Player of the Match.

With the 15-9, 15-13, 9-15, 15-13 win, the Thunderbolts climbed to sixth position in the table with nine points.

The Hawks started with setter Preet Karan spreading his passes between Sahil Kumar and Yudi Yamamoto to test Kolkata's defence.

Pankaj Sharma proved prepared, as he combined with Muhammad Iqbal to halt Hyderabad's attacks.

The Thunderbolts appeared like a well-organised machine in defence, not allowing much room to the Hawks to get in their shots. Yudi's spike went wayward costing the hosts a super point, and Kolkata took the lead.

Jithin acted as the mastermind behind Kolkata's tactics, allowing Ashwal Rai and Matin Takavar to lead effective attacks. Iqbal's dominant defending in the middle allowed Kolkata to take control of the match.

Hyderabad made changes to their formation bringing John Joseph, Guru Prashanth and Paulo Lamounier.

Paulo's block on Pankaj shifted the momentum as the home crowd went ecstatic. Niyas Abdul Salam found his rhythm. John's block on Rahul earned a crucial super point and the Hawks won the third set to open up the doors for a comeback.

In the fourth set, Lamounier started setting the tempo for Hyderabad's attacks.

Pankaj and Ashwal kept making solid cross-court attacks to relieve some pressure. Kolkata regained control winning a crucial super point.

Rahul's ferocious spike earned Kolkata an important point and with Shikar missing his shot from the middle, the Thunderbolts claimed a sensational win. PTI AT AT ATK