Shers thrash Lions; Warriors edge past Dynamos

Chennai, Jan 8: Gagan Ajit Singh scored a hat-trick as Sher-E-Jalandhar routed Bangalore Lions 7-1 in the Premier Hockey League here today.

Earlier, Maratha Warriors prevailed 5-4 over Chandigarh Dynamos in the tie-breaker of a long-drawn encounter. Bharat Kumar had put the Warriors in the lead in the 23 rd minute, before Ravipal Singh brought parity for the Dynamos in the 55th. The teams were tied 1-1 after regulation time, and even the 15 minutes of extra time could produce no result.

Gagan was unstoppable, reducing the Lions' defence to rags as he darted in unchallenged time and again. The deluge started in the eighth minute with a Gagan reverse hit. Two minutes later the star forward combined with Dutchman Don Prins, opened up the defence, and set it up for Jarnail Singh, who made no mistake.

Lions tried to make a match of it as Arjun Halappa tried desperately to infuse some life into the attack, but within 12 minutes, they suffered another reverse.

A rebound off a penalty corner came to Gagan Ajit, and he fired in. Three minutes later he got his third, weaving his way in and smashing a fierce shot from the top of the striking circle.

The shell-shocked Lions did manage to get on the scorecard when Rehan Butt worked his way in on the left flank and opened the defence for Sabu Varkey to score. But the resurgence did not last beyond a minute as Don Prins directed a Baljit Singh Dhillon grounder into the goal, and Jarnail Singh and Yudhvir Singh finally rounded things off with a goal each.

Earlier in the first match of the day the result had to be decided through the tie-breaker. The first five strokes for either side could not break the deadlock, with the scores tied 3-3 (1-1), and after the match went into the 'Sudden Death', the Warriors' Sandip Antil ensured a victory for his side with a reverse hit past custodian Baljit Singh.

Adrian D'Souza was the star for Warriors as he helped them scrape out the victory, by keping them in the game despite the defence being overrun several times.

It was the Dynamos who dominated the early proceedings, and it came much against the run of play when the Warriors struck through Bharat Kumar. The Dynamos retaliated, and nearly got the equaliser when Prabhjot opened up the defence with an immaculate cross from the left, but fellow-striker Rajpal Singh failed to trap the ball with an open goal in front.

But the Dynamos could not be denied for long. Having thrown their players upfront, they breached the Warriors' defence in the 55th minute. Rajpal took a crack at the goal, but Adrian saved and the ball came to Ravipal Singh, who nailed the equaliser.

Results: Maratha Warriors bt Chandigarh Dynamos 5-4 (1-1) Sher-E-Jalandhar bt Bangalore Lions 7-1

UNI