When you smelled hockey in Ranchi’s air
By Alok Sinha, TNN

RANCHI: Long and winding queues greeted you when you walked towards the Astro Turf Stadium on Saturday evening. You could smell hockey as you entered the stadium.

The breeze was pleasant and the sun comforting as you made your way through happy, smiling faces. As the first game between Ranchi Rhinos and UP Wizards started, the stands were full, the music loud and you understood why this bustling town in the heart of Chota Nagpur was picked as the venue for the finale of the inaugural Hockey India League. This is the crucible of hockey.

MS Dhoni is in town, relaxing at his Kadru bungalow — the one-day circus having left here over a fortnight ago — and all the town is talking about is the HIL.

“Can you arrange tickets, please? I’ll pay.” You heard this plea several times through the day. Inside, the roar was deafening when the local Rhinos played. The fans who had come in with bugles and even vuvuzelas, they cheered every move and danced wildly.

When their Mandeep Singh scored a brilliant goal — the 17-year-old flicking the ball over the Warriors with a reverse flick, there was a moment of disbelief followed by a deafening roar.

Team India coach Michael Nobbs had a smile on his face. “What do you think of him coach?” you asked. “Even he would wonder where that goal came from,” chuckled Nobbs, “He is talented, raw and exciting… so young. He has to be tough.”

What’s striking about this league is the pace of the game – fast and furious, at times desperate. Of course, it was the semifinals, the knockout stage, but the relentless attacking and counter-attacking took your breath away.

If the Rhinos-Wizards semifinal set the tone, the fans were all for Punjab Warriors when they took on the favourites Delhi Waveriders. The Waveriders, coached by the seasoned AK Bansal and led by star playmaker Sardar Singh, are without doubt the most compact team in the league.

However, Rhinos showed they are willing to give it all. Led by the tall German Moritz Fuertsae, this team would be itching to get its first win over Delhi and what better time than Sunday when all roads in the city will lead to Morabadi. Be ready for some scintillating action.