Bhopal Badshahs beat Chennai Cheetahs 3-1 in WSH

BHOPAL: Local favourites Bhopal Badshahs registered their fourth win in the inaugural World Series Hockey tournament, defeating Chennai Cheetahs 3-1 in a keenly contested match on Monday.

Skipper Sameer Dad (20th minute) gave Badshahs the lead, scoring a beautiful field goal.

Vikram Pillay drew parity for the Cheetahs in the 23rd minute.

Lalit Upadhyay then surged the scoreline for the hosts in the 48th minute while Casey Henwood drove the last nail in the coffin with a superb field goal in the 52nd minute to give Badshahs an important win.

Both the teams played some attacking hockey before a sizeable crowd at the Aishbagh stadium.

Chennai had better possession in the first half as their forwards made constant inroads into the rival’s citadel.

At half-time, both the teams were locked at 1-1. Bhopal goalkeeper, birthday boy Baljit Singh, made some good saves and even saved a penalty stroke in the fourth quarter.

Bhopal, who had three victories and two losses, looked a better side in the second half and created more chances through their captain Sameer Dad.

With today’s victory, Bhopal have accumulated 13 points from seven matches, while Chennai are still lingering at the bottom half of the table with seven points from as many games.

Both teams had come into the match after tasting defeats in their respective previous games.

Bhopal Badshahs will now travel to Delhi to face Delhi Wizards on March 15 while Chennai Cheetahs will take on Pune Strykers at Pune on the same day.