Toofans in the final as Bikramjit Singh outperform Harmanpreet Singh

K ARUMUGAM

It was a surprise when Hyderabad Toofans’ chief coach Gademan Pasha preferred young Bikramjit Singh as custodian of the bar for the semifinal ahead of Jr World Cup goldie Vikas Dahiya and Olympian Dominic Dixon. His gamble to give a novice the crucial role clicked, as the youngster with awesome acrobatics and anticipation frustrated penalty corner exponent Harmanpreet Singh, not once but a dozen times to take his side to the HIL final. The Soorma’s captain, and top sell in the renewed HIL, failed to beat the wall of Bikramjit at least a dozen times, leaving the Toofans to maintain their 3-0 lead till last minute. He converted only once when the hooter almost had gone and then the fight was not with the Soorma’s. The 3-1 verdict for Toofans tell the story of how the HIL churned out heroes. The final penalty corner count of Soorma’s (1 out of 15) — 9 of them in the last quarter- explains the heroic role hemmed by Bikramjit who had excellent support in the defence from Sumit, Gonzalo and Devindar Walmiki.

In a match fitting of a semifinal, the Hyderabad Toofans opened the scoring through Amandeep Lakra in the 25th minute before Jacob Anderson (35′) and Nilakanta Sharma (43′) added to their tally while Jeremy Hayward (60’) scored a consolation goal off the final play of the match.

Earlier, it was the Toofans who won the game’s first penalty corner in the eighth minute after some fine work from Talwinder Singh. Gonzalo Peillat opted for a variation from the penalty corner as he drilled it back to Talwinder, but he just couldn’t get his stick to the ball in time. The Toofans created chances at will as Mukul Sharma and Tim Brand combined two minutes later. Mukul crafted a brilliant cross from the right and Brand did well to deflect towards the goal, but Vincent Vanasch’s positioning was perfect as he parried the ball away. The Soorma Hockey Club, after looking menacing in the opening few minutes, found their chance when they won a penalty with 11 seconds left in the first quarter. Their skipper Harmanpreet Singh struck a swerving dragflick, but Bikramjit Singh showed great reflexes to make a brilliant block.

Vanasch was called into action early in the second quarter when Peillat let one rip off his stick, but the Belgian stuck his right pad out to thwart the attempt. Nicolas Keenan carved out a chance on the other end with some exceptional 3D hockey to lay it for Gurjant, but the latter just couldn’t get his stick on the ball.

The Toofans’ relentless pressure paid off in the 25th minute when Amandeep Lakra found the back of the net with a top-notch finish. Positioned in the first battery, Amandeep latched onto the ball and unleashed a fiery strike that beat Vanasch and the post man to give the Toofans the all-important lead. Much like the first quarter, the Soorma Hockey Club won a penalty corner again in the final minute but Dominic Dixon made two clinical saves as the Toofans led 1-0 at the halfway mark.

The Toofans, in white, dominated the early proceedings in the third quarter and nearly doubled their lead in the 32nd minute. Sumit weaved his way into the circle with excellent stickwork and laid it for Rajinder Singh, but he couldn’t keep his shot on target. The Toofans got the goal they sought in the 35th minute after some incredible link-up play. Arthur De Sloover intercepted an aerial ball and blazed down the centre before playing it to Nilakanta Sharma, who played an inch-perfect pass for Jacob Anderson. The Australian slid in at the far post to slot the ball home and give his side a two-goal cushion.

With their backs against the wall, the Soorma Hockey Club made repeated circle penetrations and won a streak of penalty corners but just could not find a way into the goal. Their players were protesting a save with the referee when the Toofans capitalised on the situation and launched a clever counter-attack. That lightning-quick move led to their third goal as Nilakanta scored in the 43rd minute and became the Toofans’ 11th player to get on the scoresheet this season.

Bikramjit remained a force to reckon with as he made a double save – first blocking Nicolas Della Torre’s dragflick – and then the rebound in the 49th minute to continue his stellar performance. The young goalkeeper was at it again in the 56th minute when he made a sharp dive to his right to keep out Jeremy Hayward’s strike. The Soorma Hockey Club went on to win multiple penalty corners at the death but simply could not convert their chances. They finally managed a goal in the final minute of play through Hayward but it didn’t change the outcome as the Hyderabad Toofans clinched a marvellous 3-1 victory.

The Hyderabad Toofans will now face Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers for the title, while JSW Soorma Hockey Club will take on the Tamil Nadu Dragons in the third-place match on February 1 at 5:45 PM IST.

The matches will be broadcast on multiple channels and in multiple languages. The lineup includes the Doordarshan network, including DD Sports, as well as Sony Sports Network – Sony Ten 1, 3, and 4.

Photos: HIL