ONGC and Bengaluru HA provided a twist to the tale, reaching the final of the 91st MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup all-India hockey tournament with stunning wins.
While the former dethroned Indian Railways 5-3, thanks to a change in strategy in the second session, Bengaluru overcame a late surge from favourite Punjab National Bank (PNB) to prevail 3-1 in the semifinals on Saturday.
Railways set the tempo in the first session. Even though ONGC matched the pace of the defending champion, it couldn’t maintain the momentum. As a result, it left a gaping hole in the defence on counter-attacks.
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Leading 3-2 at half-time, Railways was expected to pull away, but ONGC had other ideas. Getting its defencive structure right, the team put up a strong performance in the second session. Diwakar Ram, as he has been doing throughout the tournament, sounded the boards off a penalty corner to equalise for ONGC.
Railways, for some reason, was unable to sustain the pace; to make matters worse, it failed to utilise the crosses that came its way. The side couldn’t also take advantage of the five penalty corners during this phase.
ONGC, on the other hand, utilised its opportunities. Bikas Toppo deflected home off a penalty corner before Diwakar completed a brace through a penalty stroke.
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Comprising mostly youngsters in the forwardline, with seniors Vikram Kanth, Vinaya and Raghunath to guide them, Bengaluru pulled off a coup.
Despite possessing a strong frontline in the form of Gurjinder Singh and Shamsher Singh, PNB looked a pale shadow of a team which shone bright in the group matches.
Vinaya, who toiled hard in the wings and provided clean passes, assisted in Bengaluru’s first goal early on in the first half, Sandeep Singh finding the middle of the roof with a backhander.
A gem
The second goal was a gem. Rajkumar Pal ran with the ball from the centre, hoodwinking three defenders and providing a precise pass to Umesha who had to just tap it home.
Trailing by two goals, PNB attacked with gusto. After Gagandeep Singh reduced the margin off a penalty corner, it looked like a team that had found its rhythm. However, Bengaluru put the contest to bed when Jenjen Singh, who has had an outstanding tournament, pushed one home.
The results (semifinals): ONGC 5 (Mandeep Antil 7, Tyron Perreira 35, Diwakar Ram 42 & 64, Bikash Toppo 61) bt Indian Railways 3 (Karan Pal Singh 8, Raju Paul 19, Sheshe Gowda 26).
Bengaluru HA 3 (Sandeep Singh 10, K.R. Umesha 30, Jenjen Singh 61) bt PNB 1 (Gagandeep Singh 42).