Pune Strykers hope to shoot down Chandigarh Comets

V.Anand

For the whole of Friday, Pune Strykers were tense. They had done what they could do in their league matches; yet, they were unsure of a last four berth. But once Mumbai Marines helped them qualify, they are now ready to take on anyone in their quest for title glory.

The Pune side will be playing Chandigarh Comets in the second semifinal of the WSH, at the MHA Stadium on Sunday. They qualified only because Chennai Cheetahs suffered a 4-1 loss to bottom-placed Marines, helping the fourth-placed Strykers qualify. If Cheetahs had won, they would have pushed Pune out of the top four.

For Sunday’s semifinal, Strykers will have home atmosphere. “We are meeting one of the best teams in the league. Obviously, we are happy to be facing slightly less pressure,” said their endearing coach Gundeep Kumar.

Strykers supporters will be travelling all the way from Pune to back their team. “In a way, the atmosphere at the stadium will be much like home. Let’s hope the pressure of home fans do not get to the boys,” added Gundeep.

But both go into the semifinal with some kind of momentum behind them. “It was a great effort to pull off a 5-4 win over Bhopal Badshahs,” said Strykers captain Kenneth Perreira. Prior to that they had a 3-2 win over another top-4 team, Sher-E-Punjab.

Comets, who won their last league encounter 6-1 to Karnataka Lions, had beaten Marines 4-3 before that. Comets coach Harender Singh, however, does not read too much into it. “In the knockout phase anything is possible. We may have beaten them, but we have to cautious.”

Comets have one of the better drag-flickers in the league in Gurjinder Singh, who at 18 goals is one short of being the top-scorer.

On Sunday, when he turns 18, Gurjinder will have a golden chance to overcome Imran Warsi’s (Chennai Cheetahs) tally of 19 goals.