WSH: Strykers keep semifinal hopes alive
PUNE: The see-saw battle continues in the inaugural World Series Hockey as Pune Strykers stunned table toppers Sher-E-Punjab 3-2 on Tuesday, thereby getting themselves back in reckoning for a semifinal spot.
For a team that impressed in the first half of the league but slipped to mediocrity later on, the 3-2 win over the title favourites will no doubt boost their morale, though their fans may fear that the wake-up call has come a bit too late.
However, in tune with the latest trend in the league — of the losing team striking first before losing steam — continued here too. Shers’ young star Bikramjit Singh stunned the home crowd by converting the first penalty-corner, but Strykers came back strongly with some exhilarating display of grit and skill.
Livewire Vikas Pillay, who moments before had missed a sitter set up by Argentine import Mario Almada, was accurate in his penalty stroke to get the equalizer. The stroke was awarded after PC expert Gurpreet Singh’s drag-flick hit Mathew Hotchkis on the right leg.
The hosts could have added another before the end of the first quarter but the goal was disallowed after a video referral. Almada had bounced on to a rebound to strike the ball into the goal but the video referral turned it down on the ground that Almada’s push had struck the foot of teammate Roshan Minz before crossing the goalline.
A rival’s leg came to the rescue of Strykers. Gurpreet Singh’s next penalty corner hit Shers’ Prabhdeep Singh Powar on his left leg and got deflected into the net. A couple of minutes later, Gurpreet affected another PC conversion to put the Strykers ahead 3-1.
Unlike the second quarter which belonged to the Strykers, the second half witnessed a sea-change in the Shers’ approach. They came all out and earned half-a-dozen penalty corners, but were stonewalled by the Strykers goalkeeper and his band of defenders. Gagan Ajit Singh reduced the margin for Shers with just seven minutes left for the hooter.
In the late evening match, Karnataka Lions got the better of hosts Bhopal Badahahs 5-2. For Lions, drag-flicker Len Aiyappa was in his elements with a fine hat-trick , while skipper Arjun Halappa and Naveen Kumar added to the tally with two field goals. Waseem Ahmad and Karan Bhaskaran were the scorers for Badshahs.