Central Railway beat MbPT 7-2

Dhruv Tikka. Mumbai

A second-half hat-trick by Rajeev Bhatkar helped Central Railway beat Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) 7-2 in a Mumbai Hockey Association Super League match at Mahindra Stadium here on Wednesday.

The match promised to be a keenly-contested one saw the Railway side spring surprises.

Central Railways scored as early as in the eighth minute with Nilesh Mane converting their first penalty corner. And it didnt take them long to bolster the lead in the 16th minute when Ajaz Quereshi put in a rebound from the keeper.

MbPT, however, did manage to pull one back. Captain Shayne DCosta scored from a rebound through a penalty corner in the 29th minute. But, five minutes later Central Railways scored another through Amit Singh.

The second half was all about Rajeev Bhatkar. The striker, who was playing on the right, swapped his position and moved inside. And the reward was instant as he found the target past the keeper in the 51st minute. And four minutes later he again scored from a melee.

Vishal Lal got into the act as he converted the sides third and last penalty corner in the six minutes from time. Bhatkars hat-trick was completed three minutes from time as he hit the ball into the top corner from a Rashid Ali ball. Shahid Shaik did manage to score for the Mumbai Port Team in an extra time penalty corner. But it was mere consolation.