HS Prannoy 14-21, 21-17, 21-18 Viktor Axelsen: PRANNOY WINS! What a turnaround this was by the 30-year-old Indian. He gets a second successive win against the reigning Olympic and world champion. He seemed down and out down 6-10 in the second game but never stopped believing and managed to get the win. Prannoy will still not make it to the semifinals but he can take immense confidence from this performance. He has had some truly memorable wins this year and this one is richly deserved too.

HS Prannoy 14-21, 21-17, 20-18 Viktor Axelsen: Axelsen hits one long yet again and Prannoy has match points.

HS Prannoy 14-21, 21-17, 19-15 Viktor Axelsen: Prannoy reads Axelsen’s play well and draws an error. He’s just two points away from victory now. He’ll need to keep his head down as the world No 1 could turn things around in a hurry.

HS Prannoy 14-21, 21-17, 17-13 Viktor Axelsen: Consecutive points for Prannoy as Axelsen hits one long again. The Dane has struggled with drift from the far side and is under immense pressure now.

HS Prannoy 14-21, 21-17, 15-12 Viktor Axelsen: A blazing cross-court smash winner by Prannoy to make it a three-point lead. He’s pumping himself up constantly and is inching closer to the finish line.

HS Prannoy 14-21, 21-17, 11-10 Viktor Axelsen: Axelsen wins consecutive points to draw level but Prannoy manages to get his nose ahead at the interval. Another error in judgement by the Dane as he leaves the shuttle only to see it land in. There is not much to choose between the two players, Prannoy will have to ensure he doesn’t lose his intensity

HS Prannoy 14-21, 21-17, 7-5 Viktor Axelsen: Prannoy hits a smash, forces an error, and roars. He’s dictating play now and Axelsen’s shoulders seem to have drop. The Indian has all the momentum but he’s still a long way from the finish line.

HS Prannoy 14-21, 21-17, 4-3 Viktor Axelsen: Axelsen loses another review before hitting another smash winner. The Indian is in the lead, though.

HS Prannoy 14-21, 21-17 Viktor Axelsen: We’re going to a decider! Axelsen saved two game points before hitting one long. This has been a mighty impressive fightback by Prannoy. He was trailing 6-10 but turned things around in the second game on the back of some smart, clinical play. This match is tough to call now, could go either way if Prannoy is off to a strong start in the third game.

HS Prannoy 14-21, 15-19 Viktor Axelsen: A service error by Prannoy but he still has a four-point lead. Axelsen looks a bit lost, though, suddenly.

HS Prannoy 14-21, 16-12 Viktor Axelsen: Six straight points for Prannoy and he roars again. This is brilliant from the Indian. He’s remained unfazed and produced clinical rallies. Can he keep going and force a decider?

HS Prannoy 14-21, 14-12 Viktor Axelsen: Prannoy is in the lead! He lets out a huge roar. This is impressive stuff from the Indian as he keeps putting up a fight. Four straight points for him and Axelsen is under pressure.

HS Prannoy 14-21, 8-11 Viktor Axelsen: The world No 1 has a three-point lead at the second game interval. He’s reading Prannoy well for the most part and will be confident of closing out this match in straight games. Prannoy is playing quite well but will have to take things up a notch.

HS Prannoy 14-21, 8-10 Viktor Axelsen: A fine rally by Prannoy as he defends well before mixing up disguise with aggression to draw an error.

HS Prannoy 14-21, 5-9 Viktor Axelsen: Prannoy doesn’t do enough with his lift and Axelsen pounces on it with another smash winner.

HS Prannoy 14-21, 4-7 Viktor Axelsen: This time Prannoy doesn’t get a challenge right and Axelsen has a three-point lead. Both players have struggled with the drift so far.

HS Prannoy 14-21, 3-2 Viktor Axelsen: The Dane is continuing to dictate play in the second game but he makes a couple of errors and the Indian has a slender lead.

HS Prannoy 14-21 Viktor Axelsen: That’s the first game in the bag for Axelsen in 17 minutes. He finishes it with another stunning smash winner. Prannoy had his moments but wasn’t consistent enough. His movement doesn’t seem to be at its best and he’ll need a special effort to turn this around.

HS Prannoy 13-18 Viktor Axelsen: The world No 1 leaves one and challenges but the replay shows that the shuttle had landed in. He still has a five-point lead, though.

HS Prannoy 12-16 Viktor Axelsen: Consecutive errors by the Indian and he looks disappointed. It seemed he would draw level but Axelsen has a healthy lead again.

HS Prannoy 10-13 Viktor Axelsen: Three straight points for Prannoy now. He’s hanging in there and playing with good intensity.

HS Prannoy 7-13 Viktor Axelsen: A sizzling smash by Axelsen that lands on the line. The amount of power he generates with minimal back lift is fascinating as always.

HS Prannoy 7-11 Viktor Axelsen: The world No 1 and defending champion has a four-point lead at the first game interval. He won five straight points in the middle and has ensured he’s in the driver’s seat. Prannoy has played some good points so far but hasn’t been as solid as his opponent.

HS Prannoy 7-10 Viktor Axelsen: Prannoy fakes a smash and plays a superb drop winner, leaving Axelsen on his knees.

HS Prannoy 5-9 Viktor Axelsen: Consecutive errors by Prannoy – he hits one into the net before hitting one long – and Axelsen has pulled away.

HS Prannoy 5-7 Viktor Axelsen: A superb rally as Prannoy did well to move Axelsen around but the world No 1 finishes it with a smash down the line.

HS Prannoy 4-5 Viktor Axelsen: Prannoy with a wonderful drop shot and Axelsen responds with a trademark smash winner. The Dane has a slender lead.

HS Prannoy 3-3 Viktor Axelsen: It’s been a quick start to the match. Axelsen started with an error but has drawn level now. Prannoy has heavy strapping on his right knee and the commentators reckon he’s a bit tentative lunging forward.

The warmups are done and we’re ready for play!

2.40 pm: The mixed doubles match on Court 1 is over and we’re ready now for the Prannoy-Axelsen clash. Both players are making their way to the court.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of badminton from the BWF World Tour Finals. HS Prannoy is the only Indian in action at the season-ending tournament after PV Sindhu withdrew through injury.

In his opening match on debut at this event on Wednesday, Prannoy went down fighting in three games against Kodai Naraoka, and later on Thursday lost a close match to China’s Lu Guang Zu. Now the Indian takes on world No 1 Axelsen in his last match of the competition. Because of the defeats in his first two matches, Prannoy isn’t in the running to qualify for the semifinals but it could still be a good clash to watch out for. Prannoy is one of the few players to have defeated Axelsen in recent times (last November in Bali).

Watch highlights: HS Prannoy goes down in three-game epic versus Lu Guang Zu at World Tour Finals

Screenshots in the blog courtesy BWF / Viacom 18 / Tournament Software