Oilmax Stag Yoddhas and Dabang Smashers T.T.C. were level at six-all after four matches in the ongoing tie on Day 13 of the Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) at the Thyagaraj Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday.
G Sathiyan pulled off a 2-1 (11-2, 11-7, 6-11) victory over Croatian world No 75 Tomislav Pucar (Oilmax Stag Yoddhas) in the men's singles to hand Smashers an early lead.
However, Manika Batra scored an upset 2-1 (11-9, 11-9, 4-11) victory over North Korean world No. 19 Kim Song I in the women's singles to level scores at 3-all for Oilmax Stag Yoddhas.
Next up was mixed doubles and Oilmax Stag Yoddhas' pair of Nigeria's Quadri Aruna and Manika Batra rallied to beat AA Amalraj and Tetyana Bilenko (Dabang Smashers T.T.C.) 2-1 (10-11, 11-9, 11-9) and hand their team a 5-4 lead.
Kou Lei of Dabang Smashers T.T.C. took the first two games off Tomislav Pucar (Oilmax Stag Yoddhas) before the Croatian rallied to win the third game in the men's singles as the teams levelled at 6-all.
Action will now shifts to Mumbai from Wednesday for the final leg. DHFL Maharashtra United will lock horns with Falcons TTC in their fifth and final league fixture.