Mumbai beat MP 5-1, Varsities rout Bihar 10-4
Jalandhar, Oct 22 (UNI) Continuing their good form, Mumbai registered their third successive victory beating Madhya Pradesh 5-1 in their Pool C match of the Dainik Bhaskar-Tracer 62nd Senior National Hockey Championship at the Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium here today.
With nine full points from three outings, Mumbai have brightened their chances to qualify for the quarter-final knockout stage.
Meanwhile, Combined Universities handed out a 10-4 drubbing to Bihar in a Pool A encounter.
Bihar captain Xavier Gidh scored a hat-trick by scoring his team's last three goals, but the effort proved too little too late.
Mumbai took time to settle down and had to wait for 27 minutes to open their account through a field goal scored by Jadhav who guided the ball into the MP goal from the right flank. Mumbai were content with 1-0 lead in the first half.
However, they pressed hard and Jasdev Singh made it 2-0 with a goal in the 49th minute. Maintaining the pressure, Mumbai registered their third goal in the 59th minute and Rajeev Thatkar put his seal on the goal.
In the 62nd minute Mumbai were awarded a penalty stroke and Manish Rahi converted it with ease to give Mumbai a 4-0 lead.
Against the run of play, Madhya Pradesh forced a penalty corner in the 64th minute and Gulam Mohd reduced the margin by converting it.
At the fag end of the match, Mumbai's Shakti Thakur completed the Madhya Pradesh's rout with a fine field goal (5-1).
In the other match, Bihar forged ahead in the fifth minute when Ashok Rajak converted a penalty corner to make it (1-0). Bihar neutralised the lead in the 19th minute through Harshpreet Singh ( 1-1).
Sunder Singh again put Universities ahead in the 34th minute (2-1). Three minutes later Parminder Singh consolidated (3-1). In the very next minute Gurpreet Singh scored a field goal (4-1).
In the 46th minute Bihar's captain Xavier Gidh got Bihar's second goal (2-4). Universities retaliated through Yadwinder Singh in the 49th minute to make it 5-2. In 50th minute Xavier Gidh scored his second goal for Bihar (3-5). Harshpreet struck for Universities (6-3) in the 54th minute. Then Jagjit Singh scored two quick goals in the 56th and 61st minutes to widen the gap.
In the 59th minute Parminder Singh scored for Universities (9-3).
Xavier Gidh completed his hat-trick by scoring in the 64th minute (4-9). One minute before the hooter Varinder Singh Vicky hammered the last nail into Bihar's coffin (10-4).
Tomorrow's fixtures: At Jalandhar: MP vs Vidharbha, Bihar vs Maharashtra, Karnataka vs Manipur, Punjab vs Universities.
At Amritsar: Assam vs Pondicherry, Railways vs AP, Orissa vs Madhya Bharat, Hyderabad vs Uttranchal.
At Bhani Sahib: IA vs HP, Rajasthan vs Nagaland, J and K vs Tripura, Delhi vs UP.
At Ludhiana: Mirozram vs Kerala, Services vs Haryana, Gujarat vs Bhopal and TN vs Bengal.
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