Chennai Cheetahs rout Delhi Wizards 5-2 in WSH
Pakistan international Syed Imran Warsi scored twice as Chennai Cheetahs notched up a 5-2 victory over hosts Delhi Wizards in their third match of the World Series Hockey tournament at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium here today.
Wizards scored through Germany’s Philip Sunkel (32nd and 34th minute), but the Cheetahs’ Joseph Reardon (35th min), drag-flicker Warsi (47th and 53rd min), Sinclair (55th min) and Sandeep Antil (60th min) helped the team pocket full three points from the outing.
Before this game, both the teams had won and lost a game each.
Wizards, who were a better side on display and looked more co-ordinated compared to their opponents in the first half, scored two field goals through Sunkel.
The Cheetahs, who also tried hard to force a comeback into the match, could then reduce the margin in the last minute before the half time.
However, the match turned out to be a more intense affair after the change of ends as the Cheetahs came out a more aggressive lot and scored as many as four more goals.
In the first half, Wizards broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute when Sunkel hit the net from a pass by Bruno Lugun. Sunkel then doubled the lead two minutes later by scoring yet another beautiful field goal.
However, Cheetahs managed to score a goal in the very next minute through Reardon of Australia just before the half time.
At half-time, the scorecard read 2-1 in favour of the Wizards.
In the third quarter of the second half, the Cheetahs earned a penalty corner but failed to convert it. Minutes later, the visitors earned another penalty corner and this time, Warsi made no mistake as he scored the equaliser comfortably in the 47th minute.
Warsi then helped the visitors surpass Wizards by hitting the net once again through another penalty corner.
Pushed to the wall, Delhi tried their best to create opportunities but their finishing let them down.
The Cheetahs, meanwhile, kept invading the rival citadel and their efforts were awarded when Sinclair scored a fabulous field goal in the 55th minute, while Antil hit another one in the 60th minute to seal the fate of the match in visitors’ favour.