Indian Wells Masters Tennis Tournament

The neck-and-neck battle saw the Torpedoes move an inch ahead with Tsvetelin Tsvetanov and skipper Pankaj Sharma's attacks. Janshad kept setting up Ashwal to keep the Thunderbolts closer to the opposition. But Pankaj's dominant show from the service line troubled Kolkata's defence and Bengaluru took control.

Speaking after the match, Vinit said, "We stick to our plan and it worked out well for us. In the first three sets, we were dominant from the starting. Unfortunately, we made some errors but we will work on them and try and not repeat going forward." The Thunderbolts will now face off against the fourth-placed Bengaluru Torpedoes in the first semi-final on Friday. For his solid all-round performance, Vinit Kumar was named the player of the match.

Kochi Blue Spikers began strongly with Walter leading the home team's defence from the middle. Brandon Greenway threatened from the service line, while Shameem started dominating with spikes for Mumbai Meteors. Abhinav came to the forefront of Kochi Blue Spikers' attacks, but Hiroshi Centelles again edged the Meteors ahead with a super serve.

Sandoval came to life straightaway, putting pressure on the Torpedoes with his powerful spikes. When Jerome Vinith started sending thunderous serves, Bengaluru buckled. But when Tsvetelin Tsvetanov and Alireza Abalooch came off the bench, the momentum shifted. Unforced errors from the Heroes did not help their cause and Bengaluru took lead.

Nandagopal was named the player of the match. Ahmedabad got their middle firing from the very first moment as skipper Muthusamy Appavu set up LM Manoj. Manoj's two-man block line along with Nandagopal showcased Ahmedabad's defensive prowess.Erin's dangerous play from the service line gave the home crowd a ray of hope. But Manoj kept blocking Shubham Chaudhary .

Both Calicut and Chennai got off to a jittery start, making unforced errors. Jerome Vinith, who was named the Player of the Match for his solid performance, tested Chennai's defence with hard spikes. After Naveen Raja Jacob's swings were blocked, Akhin G.S took control in the middle. Mohan Ukkrapandian and Jerome's combination play from the middle.

Ashwal Rai was named the Player of the contest for his all-round display as Kolkata quelled a stiff challenge from Mumbai to win the match. Mumbai's Hiroshi Centelles showcased aggressive intentions from the service line and helped the Meteors get ahead. But when Rahul started serving the ball for the Thunderbolts, the momentum shifted. Janshad and skipper Ashwal Rai combined to take over Kolkata's middle line.