In a debut season built on ambition, spectacle, and raw competition, the Indian Pickleball League revealed its true personality where it mattered most – at the edge of defeat.
Out of 82 matches played across seven days, an extraordinary 17 were decided by just one or two points. That’s a staggering 20.7 percent, meaning one in every five encounters went right down to the wire. Even more telling – 11 of the 15 league ties featured at least one thriller, ensuring nearly every night carried genuine, nerve-shredding theatre.
If formats make leagues memorable, then IPBL found its chaos zones early. Grand Rally format recorded five thrillers, the highest among all categories, while Men’s Doubles produced four more, confirming that team pressure, not individual execution alone, became the defining test of nerves. When multiple players were stacked on a single rally, players either rose or vanished.
No team thrived in these moments more than Mumbai Smashers. In six nail-biters, they claimed victory five times, converting pressure into points with ruthless consistency. Their title run was forged in tight spaces – clutch wins in the final league tie, the tense 25-24 Decider 1 victory over Capital Warriors Gurgaon, followed by survival through the Eliminator, Qualifier 2 and the Final. Mumbai didn’t simply top the standings. They won the league’s decisive moments.
Chennai Super Warriors emerged as the other pressure specialists, with Mitchell Hargreaves becoming the league’s most recurrent figure in thrillers, starring across singles and doubles. At the opposite end, Capital Warriors Gurgaon, despite featuring in six thrillers, walked away with only one victory, suffering the season’s most agonising heartbreak.
Even the numbers crowned their own heroes – Mitchell Hargreaves, Harsh Mehta, Allison Harris, Megan Fudge, and Ryler DeHeart forming IPBL’s inaugural “Clutch Five”, players most frequently entrusted with last-point pressure.
In Year One, IPBL did not find its identity in comfortable victories. It found it at 14-14, 20-20 and 24-24 – where champions were made point by point.
IPBL’s Thrillers Dataset (17 of 82 Matches): FULL LIST BELOW
| # | Tie / Stage | Teams | Category | Detail | Winner | Score | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tie 1 (League) | Lucknow Leopards vs Bengaluru Blasters | Women’s Doubles | Naomi Amalsadiwala / Shelby Bates vs Rakshikha Ravi / Pei Chuan Kao | Lucknow Leopards | 15-13 | 2 |
| 2 | Tie 2 (League) | Hyderabad Royals vs Capital Warriors Gurgaon | Men’s Singles | Ben Newell vs Arik Badami | Hyderabad Royals | 15-13 | 2 |
| 3 | Tie 2 (League) | Hyderabad Royals vs Capital Warriors Gurgaon | Women’s Singles | Megan Fudge vs Emilia Schmidt | Hyderabad Royals | 15-14 | 1 |
| 4 | Tie 4 (League) | Chennai Super Warriors vs Hyderabad Royals | Men’s Singles | Mitchell Hargreaves vs Divyanshu Kataria | Chennai Super Warriors | 15-14 | 1 |
| 5 | Tie 4 (League) | Chennai Super Warriors vs Hyderabad Royals | Men’s Doubles | Mitchell Hargreaves / Harsh Mehta vs Divyanshu Kataria / Ben Newell | Chennai Super Warriors | 15-13 | 2 |
| 6 | Tie 5 (League) | Mumbai Smashers vs Lucknow Leopards | Men’s Doubles | Quang Duong / Ammol Ramchandani vs Ryler DeHeart / Himansh Mehta | Mumbai Smashers | 15-13 | 2 |
| 7 | Tie 5 (League) | Mumbai Smashers vs Lucknow Leopards | Women’s Singles | Allison Harris vs Shelby Bates | Mumbai Smashers | 15-14 | 1 |
| 8 | Tie 6 (League) | Capital Warriors Gurgaon vs Bengaluru Blasters | Grand Rally | Team Gurgaon vs Team Bengaluru | Capital Warriors Gurgaon | 21-20 | 1 |
| 9 | Tie 7 (League) | Mumbai Smashers vs Bengaluru Blasters | Women’s Doubles | Allison Harris / Pearl Amalsadiwala vs Pei Chuan Kao / Rakshikha Ravi | Mumbai Smashers | 15-14 | 1 |
| 10 | Tie 7 (League) | Mumbai Smashers vs Bengaluru Blasters | Grand Rally | Team Mumbai vs Team Bengaluru | Bengaluru Blasters | 21-20 | 1 |
| 11 | Tie 8 (League) | Chennai Super Warriors vs Capital Warriors Gurgaon | Men’s Doubles | Harsh Mehta / Mitchell Hargreaves vs Stavya Bhasin / Jack Munro | Chennai Super Warriors | 15-14 | 1 |
| 12 | Tie 11 (League) | Chennai Super Warriors vs Bengaluru Blasters | Men’s Singles | Aman Patel vs Phuc Huynh | Bengaluru Blasters | 15-13 | 2 |
| 13 | Tie 13 (League) | Capital Warriors Gurgaon vs Mumbai Smashers | Grand Rally | Team Gurgaon vs Team Mumbai | Mumbai Smashers | 21-19 | 2 |
| 14 | Tie 14 (League) | Bengaluru Blasters vs Hyderabad Royals | Women’s Singles | Pei Chuan Kao vs Megan Fudge | Bengaluru Blasters | 15-14 | 1 |
| 15 | Tie 14 (League) | Bengaluru Blasters vs Hyderabad Royals | Grand Rally | Team Bengaluru vs Team Hyderabad | Hyderabad Royals | 21-19 | 2 |
| 16 | Tie 15 (League) | Chennai Super Warriors vs Lucknow Leopards | Men’s Doubles | Harsh Mehta / Mitchell Hargreaves vs Ryler DeHeart / Aditya Ruhela | Lucknow Leopards | 15-13 | 2 |
| 17 | Decider 1 | Mumbai Smashers vs Capital Warriors Gurgaon | Grand Rally | Team Mumbai vs Team Gurgaon | Mumbai Smashers | 25-24 | 1 |
Formats That Put Champions To Test:
| Category | Thriller Count |
| Grand Rally + Decider 1 Grand Rally | 5 |
| Men’s Doubles | 4 |
| Men’s Singles | 3 |
| Women’s Singles | 3 |
| Women’s Doubles | 2 |
Which Team Came Out On Top Under Pressure
| Team | Thriller Matches Played | Won | Lost | Win % in Thrillers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mumbai Smashers | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83.3% |
| Chennai Super Warriors | 5 | 3 | 2 | 60.0% |
| Hyderabad Royals | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50.0% |
| Lucknow Leopards | 4 | 2 | 2 | 50.0% |
| Bengaluru Blasters | 7 | 3 | 4 | 42.9% |
| Capital Warriors Gurgaon | 6 | 1 | 5 | 16.7% |
IPBL’s – CLUTCH PLAYERS
| Player | Thrillers Played | Wins | Losses | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Hargreaves (CSW) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 75% |
| Harsh Mehta (CSW) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 66.7% |
| Allison Harris (MS) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 100% |
| Megan Fudge (HR) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50% |
| Shelby Bates (LL) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50% |
| Pei Chuan Kao (BB) | 3 | 1 | 2 | 33.3% |
| Ryler DeHeart (LL) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50% |
| Ben Newell (HR) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 50% |
About the Indian Pickleball League
The Indian Pickleball League (IPBL), launched by The Times Group, is India’s official and only national league for Pickleball, sanctioned by the Indian Pickleball Association (IPA), which is recognised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India.
The inaugural edition played from December 1-7, 2025, at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall, Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, established Delhi as the epicentre of India’s next major sporting revolution. The event brought together top Indian and international players, franchise-owned city teams, and millions of fans through live and digital platforms.
About Indian Pickleball Association:
The Indian Pickleball Association is the official governing body for pickleball in India and is dedicated to promoting, developing, and organising the sport across the country. The association continues to inspire players of all ages and skill levels to embrace the game through events like the IPA Nationals. IPA is affiliated with the Asian Pickleball Association (APA) and the Global Pickleball Federation (GPF).
About Pickleball World Ranking:
PWR is a national ranking system that spans all age groups, skill divisions, and formats -including singles, doubles, and mixed categories. It serves as the official National Sports Federation Ranking for India. With multiple sanctioned events taking place every week across the country, PWR defines the top Indian players at every level and forms the foundation for team selection at the school, district, state, and national stages.
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