Tamil Nadu Police pulls off a comfortable win over Kerala in John Memorial trophy

TN Police won with a scoreline of 25-16, 19-25, 25-22, 25-17 in a Group C match which panned out for 85 minutes. The winner got off to a good start, holding a 7-3 lead over its opponent in the first few minutes of the contest. Kerala Police tried to reduce the deficit, but TN Police kept chipping in with points regularly, never allowing Kerala to make a comeback in the first set.

TN eventually won it 25-16. Despite losing the opening set, Kerala was brimming with confidence, taking a four-point lead at the end of the first timeout of the set.

It looked comfortable in the initial exchanges, creating moments of panic among the TN squad members. Kerala evened things up at the conclusion of two sets, winning the second by a scoreline of 25-19. 

The third set was evenly poised, with both teams cancelling out each other’s points most of the time. It was even-stevens until the 20-point mark, but Tamil Nadu picked up four points in a row to take the scoreline to 2420. Kerala couldn’t claw its way back into the match, with TN coming up trumps at 25-22.  The pattern of play was same in the fourth set as well, with TN leading by a slender margin of three points. Tamil Nadu Police had an inconsistent day near the net but ended up victorious by picking up crucial points, which came off defensive masterclass. It finished the proceedings with a 25-17 win. 

TN Police will look to make it two wins on the trot as it squares off against SDAT on Wednesday in its second and final league encounter. Since there are only two teams in Group B, South Central Railway will lock horns with Income Tax to decide the group topper. In the other men’s match for the day, Integral Coach Factory (ICF) will play St Joseph’s. 

In the only women’s match of the day, Tamil Nadu Youth defeated Kerala Police in five sets, securing a 14-25, 25-23, 25-16, 17-25, 18-16 win in a match which lasted 115 minutes. They will next play South Central Railway on Wednesday in its next round-robin match.

RESULT: Men: Tamil Nadu Police beat Kerala Police 25-16, 19-25, 25-22, 25-17; Women: Tamil Nadu Youth beat Kerala Police 14-25, 25-23, 25-16, 17-25, 18-16