World series hockey: Punjab thrash hosts Chennai

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Sher-E-Punjab confirmed their presence in the semifinals of the Bridgestone World Series Hockey with a thoroughly professional 4-2 win over Chennai Cheetahs here on Sunday. The result at the MRK Stadium has diminished Chennai’s chances of progressing to the next round.

Chennai have little time for recovery as they are facing Chandigarh Comets in their next home match on Monday. No-one can begrudge Punjab’s win because the visitors were sharper and more incisive on the attacking half. The hosts, on the other hand, struggled to combine well throughout. Their passing was erratic and circle penetration as frequent as snow fall in the Tamil Nadu capital.

Sinclair put Chennai ahead with a blockbuster goal in the seventh minute. The goal was world-class in its execution. When Vikram Pillay fired a pass into the ‘D’ from the centre-line, he wouldn’t have imagined that the ball would end up in Punjab’s cage. But Sinclair had other ideas as he steered the ball home with a majestic touch on the run. The sublime strike electrified the stadium. Sinclair leapt like a Cheetah and punched the air in utter delight.

But Punjab didn’t allow Chennai to bask in Sinclair’s glory. The strapping full-back Bikramjit Singh brought the visitors level with a scorching grounder off his team’s second PC. Punjab’s next short corner was also productive, the only difference being the identity of the goal-scorer. Harpreet Singh, who had replaced Bikramjit, found the target with an unstoppable flick.

In hockey, attacks generally tend to originate on the right, the natural side of players. But Punjab attacked relentlessly on the left. They were right because Chennai had no defending to speak of in that area. Chennai’s familiar malaise of nervousness in build-up play once again afflicted them as they erred repeatedly in long passes.

Imran Warsi, so often Chennai’s saviour in the WSH, once again put up his hand to drag his team into the match. The Pakistani PC ace struck his 16th goal of the event a few minutes before half-time to send the home crowd into raptures.

But Chennai didn’t have anything to shout about in the third and fourth quarters. Barring a PC, they never came close to scoring. Punjab weren’t so goal shy. Matthew Hotchkis made it 3-2 for Punjab with a superb effort from the top of the ‘D’ and Gagan Ajit Singh added one more in the final minutes to condemn Chennai to their third home defeat. V.S. Vinaya was industrious and inventive for the winners.

When Chennai survey the wreckage, they can take heart from a couple of positives. Goalkeeper C. Santosh was outstanding, despite conceding four goals. A point-blank save he effected to deny William Xalxo took the breath away. Tamil Nadu youngster S. Sivamani, who partnered Pillay in the middle, took on experienced Punjab players with confidence.

Results: Sher-E-Punjab 4 (Bikramjit Singh 13, Harpreet Singh 22, Matthew Hotchkis 43, Gagan Ajit Singh 67) bt Chennai Cheetahs 2 (Adam Sinclair 7, Imran Warsi 32). Bhopal Badshahs 2 (Affan Yousuf 12, Mudassar Ali Khan 61) bt Mumbai Marines 1 (Sandeep Michael 45)
Action today: Chennai Cheetahs vs Chandigarh Comets (7 pm). Pune Strykers vs Delhi Wizards (9 pm).

Note: Both matches are live on Neo Sports and Neo Cricket.