The match between Army XI and Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) was the pick of the lot in the All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here on Sunday.
The Army team was tested to the core by PSB in the tussle that ended in a 2-2 draw and could have gone either way.
With two back-to-back wins, Army XI was considered the superior team, but PSB showed why it is such a tough nut to crack.
With the draw, the battle for the top slot in Pool B has intensified.
It was PSB which took the lead through a wonderful backhander by Pabhdeep Singh that went past the outstretched legs of goalkeeper P.T. Rao.
Not to be cowed down, Army made several counterattacks and the equaliser came off a fierce shot by Rajinesh Salaria just as rain started pouring. Soon after, Siraju increased the lead for Army off a penalty corner.
PSB equalised thanks to a great effort from Ramandeep Singh, who had to dive in front to deflect a drive from Sukjit Singh.
Hat-trick by RayerEarlier, a hat-trick by Vinod Rayer and a brace from Hasan Basha helped IOB script a facile 5-0 win over SAIL.
If the first half was any indication, nobody would have thought IOB would go on to win despite the bankmen having a one-goal cushion.
The forwards were a tad slow in converting even the best of chances they were offered with. And the way the penalty corners were taken gave the impression that IOB would once again end up losing.
However, it was a rejuvenated IOB one witnessed in the second session. Raids from the right came like waves, and SAIL found it tough to stem the onslaught.
Rayer was in the thick of things as he scored two more goals — both in partnership with Rafeeq.
Basha, who was uninspiring for most part of the first session, found his touch towards the end of the second.
His second goal and the team’s last was a fine effort by Basha where he slided off the turf to tap it home off a cross from the right.
First win for CAGComptroller and Auditor General (CAG) scripted its first win in two matches in Pool A with a hard-fought 2-1 defeat of Karnataka.
If CAG was held to a draw in the final minutes by Mumbai the other day, today it was CAG which turned the tables on Karnataka with hardly a fraction of a second remaining for the hooter.
Karnataka had barely finished celebrating its second goal in the dying minutes when CAG scored the winner. A drive from 25-yards was wonderfully deflected by Navneet Swarnkar into the net.
The results:
Pool A: CAG 3 (Chandan Singh 20, Md. Naemuddin 53, Navneet Swarnkar 70) bt Karnataka 2 (Mohan Muthanna 44, P.N. Thimanna 69).
Pool B: Army XI 2 (Rajinesh Salaria 29, A.P. Siraju 42) drew with PSB 2 (Pabhdeep Singh 22, Ramandeep Singh 50); IOB 5 (Vinod Rayer 28, 46 & 51, Hasan Basha 53, 55) bt SAIL 0.
