Bottom-placed RP-SG Mavericks Kolkata take on fourth-placed Dabang Delhi T.T.C. in Tie 11 of Ultimate Table Tennis Season 3 at the Thyagaraj Sports Complex in New Delhi.

A year after she lifted the trophy alongside Satihyan Gnanasekaran as part of the Dabang set-up, Manika Batra must now face the team from Delhi as captain of the Mavericks from Kolkata. 

The Mavericks have found themselves at the bottom of the table after three ties, and are in dire need of a win to life them out of the bottom two. A win would take them to second place, leapfrogging four places to a place of more comfort.

Matilda Ekholm has been the star performer for the team so far in the women’s singles, and will be banked on to continue in the same vein. Manika on the other hand has not yet hit the levels of performance she is known for, and will be needed to fire on all cylinders today. Benedikt Duda is another paddler who will want to carry on with his winning form. 

It will be interesting to see which doubles pairing will Mavericks adopt after experimenting with two combinations before.

Dabang Delhi on the other hand sit just two places above their rivals, in fourth place, and have lost their previous tie. That was the only game, against the Goa Challengers, that Sathiyan has lost a match. Bernadette Szocs did the lions share of the work in that outing, and it remains to be seen if she is fit to play in today’s tie after a niggle in her knee.

John Persson and Krittwika Sinha Roy have both fared admirably in their debut season, but will be needed to back their team with results in what could be a crucial encounter that shapes the season.

Tune in to Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 1 HD, Hotstar and JioTV today at 7 pm IST to watch this close encounter between former teammates in a must-win tie.