Army XI rout Bombay Customs 9-1; Air India beat Namdhari XI

Mumbai, Apr 14 (UNI) Dhananjay Mahadik, with three goals, led the Army XI (Bangalore) thrash local outfit Bombay Customs 9-1 in a Pool 'B' league match of the 46th All India Bombay Gold Cup hockey tournament at the Mahindra stadium here today.

In another pool 'B' match, Air India (North) overcame Namdhari XI by two goals to zero to notch up their second consecutive victory.

With both teams now having two wins to their credit the match between the two on Wednesday will decide who will qualify for the semifinals.

In the match between Army XI and Bombay Customs, it did not take long for the Bangalore-based team to assert their superiority with Chitanranjan Singh scoring in the eighth minute, when he latched on to a pass from the right by Sunil Ekka to send the ball into the goal 1-0. Three minutes later Army XI were 2-0 up with their captain Dhananjay Mahadik scoring with a drag flick from his team's first penalty corner.

Army XI were all over the Bombay Customs defence and Sunil Ekka put his name on the scoreboard in the 14th minute following a quick counter attack to put his side 3-0 up.

Rajesh Lakra made it 4-0 for Army XI scoring from an indirect penalty corner in the 18th minute. Army XI continued to raid the Bombay Customs citadel, but could not add to their tally as the teams went into half time at 4-0.

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