PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal
PV Sindhu and Saina NehwalBAI

The Premier Badminton League (PBL) season 3 kicks off on December 23 with a mouthwatering team encounter. Chennai Smashers take on the Awadhe Warriors at the Karmabir Nabin Chandra Bordoloi A.C. Indoor Stadium in Guwahati.

The match also sets the tone for a mouthwatering encounter between two of the leading ladies of badminton in India -- Saina Nehwal (Awadhe Warriors) and PV Sindhu (Chennai Smashers).

In the overall head to head meetings, Sindhu holds a 2-1 edge over her compatriot, who reunited with coach Pullela Gopichand, after ending her association with coach Vimal Kumar earlier this year.

Sindhu and Saina faced off only last month in Nagpur in the final of the Senior National Badminton Championship. Saina showed tremendous grit and agility to win the match 21-17, 27-25.

"I'm looking forward to our opening match against Awadhe Warriors. It is not just my match against Saina, every match will be tough as there are some really strong teams out there," mentioned Olympics 2016 silver medallist Sindhu ahead of Saturday evening's mouthwatering encounter.

"The competition is going to be really good."

Saina vs Sindhu PBL season 3:

Date: December 23

Time: 7 pm IST

TV channels: Star Sports 1/HD

Live streaming: Hotstar

Live scores: Twitter

There are a total of eight teams in this edition of the Premier Badminton League in India: Ahmedabad Smash Masters, North Eastern Warriors, Chennai Smashers, Awadhe Warriors, Delhi Acers, Hyderabad Hunters, Bengaluru Blasters, Mumbai Rockets.

Every day there will be one battle between two teams comprising five matches -- men's and women's singles and doubles and mixed doubles. Each match will be a three-game affair of 15 points and played under the Rally Points Scoring System.

 If scores are tied 14-14, the team scoring the 15th point first will win that game.

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