Sports

IND v SA, 2nd T20I: Miller’s whirlwind ton goes in vain as India clinch series with a 16-run win

Guwahati, Oct 2 (IANS) David Miller hit a whirlwind second T20I century, but it went in vain as India clinched their first-ever T20I series win at home over South Africa with a 16-run victory in the second T20I at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Sunday.

After the collective batting effort led by fifties from Suryakumar Yadav and K.L Rahul took India to 237/3, Miller hit an unbeaten, brilliant 106 off 47 balls, laced with eight fours and seven sixes, to also become the leading run-scorer for South Africa in T20Is.

He also shared a 174-run stand off 90 balls for the fourth wicket with Quinton de Kock (69 not out). But with de Kock struggling to break free early in the innings, South Africa fell short by 16 runs.

Arshdeep Singh had Temba Bavuma and Rilee Rossouw dismissed for successive ducks in his first over. While Bavuma was caught at mid-off, Rossouw's top-edge was taken by cover holding on to a juggling catch on the third attempt.

Aiden Markram stepped up to be the aggressor for South Africa, looking gorgeous in steering and punching through the off-side while pulling crisply through mid-wicket to take the visitors' to 45/2 in power-play.

His promising knock was cut short by Axar Patel, who got some dip to turn it away from Markram's attempted cover drive and hit the top of off-stump. From there, Axar and Ravichandran Ashwin continued to put a squeeze on the scoring and pushed the required run rate very high.

But Miller had other plans, taking successive boundaries off Harshal Patel. In the next over, he took two sixes off Ashwin before ending the over with a pulled four-through square leg. After lofting flat over long-off for six off Arshdeep Singh, Miller reached his fifty in 25 balls.

De Kock broke the shackles of finding the ideal timing by slamming Axar Patel for two sixes and a four on three successive deliveries. Miller continued to take a brace of fours off Harshal while de Kock's improved timing saw him get his fifty in 39 balls.

Miller then unleashed carnage on Arshdeep, hitting sixes over deep mid-wicket twice while nailing fours through backward point and bisecting long-on and deep mid-wicket to perfection to take 26 runs off the 19th over.

With India fielding with an extra fielder in the 30-yard circle in the final over, Miller hit back-to-back sixes over long-on and deep mid-wicket to get his century in 46 balls. De Kock finished the innings with a six over square leg, but it was not enough for South Africa to avoid conceding the series to India.

Brief scores: India 237/3 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 61, K.L Rahul 57; Keshav Maharaj 2/23) beat South Africa 221/3 in 20 overs (David Miller 106 not out, Quinton de Kock 69 not out; Arshdeep Sigh 2/62, Axar Patel 1/53) by 16 runs

--IANS

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National Games round-up: Wrestler Hinaben Khalifa, badminton mixed team add two bronze to Gujarat’s tally

Ahmedabad, Oct 2 (IANS) Hinaben Khalifa became only the second woman wrestler from Gujarat to clinch a National Games medal and the hosts also bagged the badminton mixed team bronze on a day when five Games Records were broken in the swimming pool.

Hinaben Khalifa had been training under the radar at the Gujarat government's Centre of Excellence in Nadiad but rose to the occasion to clinch a bronze medal in the women's 53 kg weight category.

She began her campaign with an easy win over Himachal Pradesh's Ritika and then won by technical superiority against Uttarakhand's Priyanka Sikarwar. She was, however, no match to eventual champion Antim Panghal of Haryana.

But Hinaben Khalifa regrouped herself in time for the bronze medal bout against Shivani. She took a 2-0 lead early into the contest and then bagged three successive points immediately after the breather. With hardly a minute left, Shivani did manage to get a point back but Khalifa stifled any further scoring opportunities to win 7-1.

"It would have been great to win gold in front of the home crowd. But unfortunately, it didn't turn out as expected. This is a great learning curve for me, and getting a bronze at the National Games will boost my confidence," said Hinaben Khalifa after the bout.

"The level of competition is really high in my weight category. Antim has been a world beater, Priyanshi is the top seed, it is a healthy competition and every wrestler has to put in a lot of effort to get past the other," she added.

However, there was heartbreak for Gujarat in the women's 57kg category as Bhavika Patel went down 4-6 against Sonali Mandlik of Maharashtra in the bronze medal play-off.

In Surat, Gujarat's badminton mixed team fought hard against second seeds Kerala in the semifinals but went down 1-3. However, the first-ever semifinals appearance assured them of a historic bronze.

Elsewhere, Aneesh S. Gowda announced his arrival as a bright prospect on the senior stage in a telling fashion, scripting a fairy-tale victory over the seasoned Sajan Prakash in the men's 200m Freestyle final in the National Games Aquatics competition at the Sardar Patel Aquatics Complex in Rajkot.

On a day that saw five National Games Records being rewritten in the pool, Aneesh Gowda's 1:51.88 was the standout effort. The Karnataka teenager, who won the event at the National Championships last month, showed nerves of steel and immaculate focus when squaring up against the Olympian.

Not to be left behind, track and field competitors also produced four National Games Records in five finals at IIT Gandhinagar on Sunday. Services high jumper Sarvesh Anil Kushare with a clearance of 2.27m and Uttar Pradesh's Usaid Khan who won the decathlon with 7121 points.

Yamandeep Sharma (Rajasthan) joined Usaid as the first two men to pass 7000 points in the National Games. The Haryana men's 4x400m relay quartet and the Tamil Nadu 4x400 squad were the others who came up with New National Games Records.

Commonwealth Games 2018 bronze medallist weightlifter Deepak Lather (Haryana) clinched men's 81kg gold after a keen battle with Services' star Ajay Singh at the Mahatma Mandir. Deepak took the top spot on the podium with total lifts of 315kg while Ajay Singh finished a mere 1kg behind, despite lifting two kilos more in Clean and Jerk.

On the opening day of hockey competitions, Sunelit Toppo scored the winner for Odisha in their 3-2 win against Uttar Pradesh in a women's Group A match at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in Rajkot. Favourites Haryana thumped novices Gujarat 30-1 in another match., Navneet Kaur and Neha leading the scoring with five goals each. For the hosts, Muskan Kureshi got a consolation goal in the 37th minute.

--IANS

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LLC 2022: Yusuf Pathan, Mitchell Johnson engage in ugly fight; Aussie pacer likely to face one-match ban

Jodhpur, Oct 2 (IANS) The 2022 Legends League Cricket on Sunday witnessed an ugly fight between all-rounder Yusuf Pathan and Mitchell Johnson during the match between Bhilwara Kings and India Capitals at the Barkatullah Khan Stadium, here on Sunday.

The video of the incident is now getting viral on social media. In the video, Yusuf can be seen arguing with Johnson and then the pacer pushed him. Immediately, the umpire intervened and took Johnson to the other side.

Sources told IANS that the organisers are not at all happy with what happened and are planning to ban Johnson for a match as per ICC laws.

Meanwhile, the former New Zealand skipper Ross Taylor and West Indies star Ashley Nurse smashed blazing half-centuries to help India Capitals enter the final after beating Bhilwara Kings by four wickets.

Taylor struck a quick-fire 84 off 39 which included nine fours and five massive sixes while Nurse hit unbeaten 60. His 28-ball brilliant knock was laced with five fours and four sixes as India Capitals chased down the highest target of the season comfortably in the end with three balls to spare.

Despite Sunday's loss, Irfan Pathan-led Bhilwara Kings will get another shot at securing their berth in the final when they take on third-placed Gujarat Giants in the eliminator match at the same venue on Monday.

Final will be played at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday.

--IANS
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IND v SA, 2nd T20I: Suryakumar, Rahul lead collective batting show in propelling India to 237/3 against South Africa

Guwahati, Oct 2 (IANS) Suryakumar Yadav and K.L Rahul were the stars in a collective commanding batting show in propelling India to a humongous 237/3 in their 20 overs of the second T20I against South Africa here on Sunday.

In front of a jam-packed crowd at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Rahul sizzled with an eye-pleasing 57 of 28 balls, before Suryakumar brought out full carnage of 360 degree shots to make 61 off just 22 balls.

Captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik played their parts well as India made merry and enthralled the fans by feasting on an ordinary bowling performance from South Africa, barring Keshav Maharaj's 2/23 in four overs.

India were off to a fiery start right from the word go when Rahul placed a length ball from Kagiso Rabada between backward point and cover for four. The aggression from India then upped in the fourth over when Rahul nonchalantly flicked off wrists to send a Wayne Parnell delivery over deep backward square leg for six.

On the very next ball, Rahul crisply brought out square drive off Parnell for four more, before Rohit glanced through fine leg to make it the second four of the over. Rohit and Rahul took a four each in the next two overs off Lungi Ngidi and Keshav Maharaj to end the power-play at 57/0.

Post power-play, Rahul thumped Anrich Nortje all around the park, smacking him for a brace of sixes and a four over the keeper's head. Rohit increased the thrashing by taking successive boundaries in the ninth over costing 21 runs. The 96-run opening stand was broken by Maharaj when Rohit dragged a slog-sweep to deep mid-wicket.

Rahul reached his fifty in 24 balls when he danced down the pitch to smack Aiden Markram over long-on for six and brought up India's hundred in the process. In the next over, Rahul missed the sweep on a skiddy delivery from Maharaj and was trapped lbw.

Suryakumar wept and cut through for fours in his first four balls to maintain the run-rate tempo. He then took Kagiso Rabada for cleaners in the 15th over - a flick off wrists went for six over deep square leg, followed by loft over long-off for four. A scoop-pull over fine leg for four was followed by a scooping a flick over fine leg for six to take 22 runs of the over.

Suryakumar's carnage continued when he slapped a full toss off Ngidi over deep mid-wicket for six and followed it up with a slice over third man for four. He brought up his fifty in 18 balls with a fantastic upper cut over backward point for six on a no-ball off Parnell.

Kohli joined the boundary hitting party with a six and two fours off Parnell, followed by a four off Ngidi. Suryakumar then brought the century of the partnership in just 41 balls with a cracking six over wide long-on, before being run out on the very next ball. Kohli hit two more fours before Karthik applied finishing touches with a four and two sixes in the final over to end a memorable batting show by India.

Brief Scores: India 237/3 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 61, KL Rahul 57; Keshav Maharaj 2/23) against South Africa

--IANS
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All-India U-16 Hockey: Last-minute stroke halts defending champs SAIL, held to draw

Pune, Oct 2 (IANS) Defending champions SAIL Hockey Academy, Rourkela, Odisha were held to an exciting 3-3 draw by Sukhjeevan Sports Academy, Agra in the 6th SNBP All-India Hockey Tournament (Boys' Under-16) at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, on Sunday.

A last-minute penalty stroke earned by the Agra team and subsequently converted by Deonath Nanwar (59th) denied SAIL the chance to gain full points from their opening Pool-G fixture

SAIL got off to a sound start with Akash Rajbhar (6th) making it 1-0, however, Sunil Lakhra (13th) was quick to bring the match on level for Sukhjeevan Sports Academy. At the end of two quarters, the match stood on level terms.

On resumption, SAIL struck twice in a span of three minutes through Manish Kumar -- the first off a penalty corner (35th) and the next off a field goal to help his side take a 3-1 lead.

The Agra side, however, had other ideas and fought back with Yuvraj Singh (40th) striking the boards to make it 3-2 and then with just over a minute left for the hooter had Deonath (59th) make it 3-3.

The day yet again saw a deluge of goals scored with 48 goals being netted, which included a start act by Nikhil Goswami who led Kushida School, West Bengal to a 9-0 win over Bhongir Hockey Academy, Telangana.

Leading with a five-star act was, Nikhil (9th, 20th, 23rd, 30th, 50th - penalty corner), while Deepak Patel 12th, 58th; Om Pramanik 41st; Subhajit Tamang 59th added the rest.

RESULTS:

Pool-A: Kushida School, West Bengal: 9 (Nikhil Goswami 9th, 20th, 23rd, 30th, 50th (pc); Deepak Patel 12th, 58th; Om Pramanik 41st; Subhajit Tamang 59th) bt Bhongir Hockey Academy, Telangana: 0. HT 5-0

Pool-H: Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, Kodagu, Kerala: 2 (Charih Shetty 48th (pc); 51st) bt Hockey Nashik: 0. HT: 0-0

Pool-E: Smart Hockey Academy, Raipur, Chhatisgarh: 9 (Raman Kumar 18th, 27th, 51st; Prince Kumar 24th, 36th, 39th; Yaduwinder Singh 32nd; Surjit Rajbhar 34th; Shubhankar Sonkar 50th) bt Tamil Nadu Hockey Association: 1 (Kishor K 52nd) HT: 3-0

Pool-G: SAIL Hockey Academy, Rourkela, Odisha: 3 (Akash Rajbhar 6th; Manish Kumar 35th (pc), 38th) drew with Sukhjeevan Sports Academy, Agra: 3 (Sunil Lakhra 13th, Yuvraj Singh 40th (pc), Deonath Nanwar 59th (ps). HT: 1-1

Pool-B: Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar: 12 (Arshdeep Singh 8th; Sahibpreet Singh 13th, 17th; Harshdeep Singh 23rd, 26th, 46th; Jagjeet Singh 40th, 42nd, 60th; Gurpratap Singh 44th (pc); Jeevan Singh 48th (pc), 59th) bt Bishnupur Hockey, Manipur: 0. HT: 5-0

Pool-D: One Thousand Hockey Lega (OTHL) XI, New Delhi: 9 (Anil Kumar 2nd (pc), 46th; Shiva Chauhan 25th; Yuvraj Oraon 17th, 40th, (pc), 60th; Vivek Kumar Rathod 42nd; Bhupendra Singh 57th, 58th) bt Kolkata Warriors, Kolkata: 1 (Pushpendra Singh 35th). HT: 3-0.

--IANS

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Suzie Bates’ half-century helps White Ferns level series vs West Indies

St Johns (Antigua), Oct 2 (IANS) New Zealand Women, aided by a half-century from Suzie Bates, pulled off a thriller to win the second T20I against the West Indies Women by six wickets with one ball remaining and level the series, at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Sunday (IST).

Batting first, the West Indies had a difficult time getting the scoreboard moving as New Zealand bowlers were much more consistent in their line and length. The hosts finally managed a below-par 107/5 in 20 overs.

Skipper Hayley Matthews struck one boundary on her way to 8 off 13 balls before she had a big nick behind to keeper Izzy Gaze of Hayley Jensen. Aaliyah Alleyne, who punished the White Ferns bowlers in the first match, struggled to get going in this match. Eden Carson who replaced Lea Tahuhu in the White Ferns' team, had Alleyne caught for 13 which came off 19 balls.

Kyshona Knight and Chinelle Henry struck a 31-run partnership when the home side needed it the most. Knight fell eight runs short of a half-century.

In reply, Suzie Bates smashed six fours on her way to 54 off 61 balls, and was well supported by Amelia Kerr with 21 from 25 balls. The visitors looked set for victory before two wickets from Cherry-Ann Fraser in the 18th over swung the match back in the West Indies; favour.

However, the 19th over went for 10 runs which meant New Zealand needed seven runs in the last over, which they achieved with one ball to spare. Fraser had the best bowling figures, finishing with 2.5-0-13-1 followed by off-spinner Karishma Ramharack 4-0-23-1.

The teams will return to the same venue on Sunday for the third T20I in the five-match series.

Brief scores: West Indies Women 107/5 in 20 overs (Kyshona Knight 42; Hayley Jensen 3/24) lost to New Zealand Women 108/4 in 19.5 overs (Suzie Bates 54) by six wickets.

--IANS

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USA Cricket cash flow situation critical; ICC suspends funding for third quarter: Report

New York, Oct 2 (IANS) The International Cricket Council (ICC) has reportedly suspended funds to USA Cricket for the third quarter for its failures to provide the "Q2 Financial Report that was due at the end of June 2022", along with the minutes of the "2021 AGM".

A report on emerging cricket.com said on Sunday that, USA Cricket members were alerted to the "worrying" current state of the national governing body in a letter from interim chairman, Atul Rai.

The report added that Rai had written to members directly for the first time since taking over as interim chairman of USA Cricket in August.

The letter added that USA Cricket had not paid its employees or players for some time now, and have "more than USD200,000 of pending invoices".

In his letter reportedly addressed the USA Cricket member, Rai said, "It has been almost two months since the 2020 elections were finally completed and I was appointed as the interim chairman of USA Cricket Board. While I want to help bring about the change so desperately needed in the system, I am also trying to absorb the challenges that USA Cricket has thrown at me since taking on the new role."

Detailing the financial issues plaguing USA Cricket, he said that when he assumed office he came to know that the financial report for the second quarter ending June 2022, was never submitted.

"Soon after assuming the office, we were informed that the Q2 Financial report that was due at the end of June 2022, was never submitted! In addition, the 2021 audited financial report that was also due on June 30 was not submitted despite several deadline extensions provided by ICC. The report also required the minutes of the 2021 AGM that was never conducted! You may recall that the 2020 AGM was held in May 2021!

Rai informed the ICC had suspended funding for the third quarter due to non-compliance.

"Consequently, ICC has suspended our 3rd quarter funding for non-compliance. I was surprised and disappointed to learn that USA Cricket has been missing the submission deadlines for quite some time now! The current cash flow situation of USA Cricket is critical, as we have defaulted on employee salaries and USA players' salaries.

"In addition, there were more than USD200K of pending invoices from previous non budgeted expenditure that was overdue, and we are planning for them to be paid, having paid a significant portion of it already. Moving forward, the calendar and the budget will be published In January and there will be no expenses outside of the budget," he wrote in the letter.

--IANS

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Premier League: Arsenal beat Spurs in derby to maintain lead; Chelsea overcome Palace

London, Oct 2 (IANS) Goals from Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus and Granit Xhaka ensured derby day delight for Arsenal as the Gunners beat arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 to maintain their top spot in the Premier League table.

Partey's wonderful strike from distance set Arsenal on their way, and despite a Harry Kane penalty ensuring the sides went in level at half-time, a poacher's effort from Jesus restored their lead four minutes into the second half.

Emerson Royal was then red carded for the visitors and soon after Xhaka drove in a third to secure a third straight home victory for Arsenal in this fixture for the first time since 2013.

The win helped Arsenal move up to 21 points from eight games -- seven wins and one defeat -- leading Manchester City by four points. On Sunday, City will have a chance to reduce the margin when they take on arch-rivals Manchester United in a derby.

Chelsea win 2-1 at Palace

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his first goal for his new club while Conor Gallagher struck a dramatic and brilliant late winner on his return to Selhurst Park as Chelsea defeated Crystal Palace 2-1 on Saturday. The result moves the Blues up to fifth in the Premier League table.

Odsonne Edouard had put Crystal Palace ahead in the seventh minute but Chelsea fought back strongly.

Having recovered from going behind early on with Aubameyang's fine leveller, it looked like Chelsea were ultimately going to be frustrated at Selhurst Park. But substitute Gallagher curled a shot into the top corner in the 90th minute to give Graham Potter his first win as Chelsea head coach in his first Premier League game in charge.

This visit to south London started poorly. Palace took an early lead following some sloppy Chelsea play and then looked good value for that advantage. Steadily though, the Blues' chances began to come with Mason Mount heading wide and Raheem Sterling going close.

It was Aubameyang, without a mask but with a sharp finish on the spin, who did pull his side level before half-time. A first-half talking point was a VAR review for a possible red card for Thiago Silva which went Chelsea's way.

The home crowd angered by that urged their side on in the second half and Kepa made a good save but with time running out, another substitute, Christian Pulisic, teed up Gallagher to decide this derby contest.

In other matches, West Ham United defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 while Newcastle outplayed Fulham 4-1 in an away encounter. Everton got the better of Southampton 2-1.

--IANS

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Versatility in squad will allow us to play different kinds of XIs during T20 World Cup: Dravid

Guwahati, Oct 1 (IANS) India head coach Rahul Dravid on Saturday said that the team management has been very clear about the kind of skills they wanted in the 15-member squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup, adding that the versatility in the group will allow them to play different kinds of XIs based on the different oppositions and playing conditions in Australia.

On September 12, India announced their squad for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia. However, since then there have been some serious injury concerns for the team.

India are waiting for clarity on the fitness of Deepak Hooda and Jasprit Bumrah, who have been ruled out of the ongoing T20I series against South Africa and are currently at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru nursing back injuries. And, star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja too will miss the mega event in Australia due to a knee injury.

However, the Indian head coach is not pressing the panic button and trusts the skills of the players, who are in the squad.

"I think we've been very clear about the kind of skills that we want in the 15. I think for me that is really important, the kind of squad that we picked for the World Cup -- barring injury, what were the kind of skills that we were looking for, different kind of bowlers, certain batting skills -- so all of those things, without going into too much detail, we've always been very clear about it, and I think to a large extent we've managed to get everything," said Dravid in the press conference ahead of the second T20I against South Africa.

"Not everything will be perfect, at times due to injury, due to many other factors. I think, in terms of the skills in the squad, everyone being fit, as we go ahead from here on in, I think we're quite comfortable that we've got all the skills that will allow us to play different combinations and different kinds of XIs based on the different wickets that we might get in Australia and the different oppositions," he added.

The 49-year-old feels that versatility and flexibility are very important in the squad for a tournament like the World Cup.

"I think that's really important in a tournament like the World Cup where you play in five different venues, or four different venues in our case in the league stage, and then hopefully onwards, and you play against five different teams, so you really need to have that little bit of versatility and flexibility in your squad that allows you to change up things if you need to against a particular opposition. I think we've been very clear with that," he said.

Dravid admitted that they haven't been able to play that same squad in the last few series due to a variety of reasons.

"...obviously, over the last few series, we probably haven't been able to play that squad due to a variety of reasons, and that can happen, but I think that most of the guys in the 15 now have had a pretty decent amount of cricket, at least in the last six months here," he said.

Asked whether the constant shuffling in the playing eleven may lead to players not feeling confident about their place in the lineup, India's head coach said the communication within the team has been very good and it's a little unrealistic to keep playing the same XI over and over again.

"I think it's a little unrealistic to expect us to keep playing the same XI over and over again. Some of the changes or experiments that people like to call them are sometimes forced upon you. If Bumrah doesn't play the last game, it's not because we are experimenting. It's because he got injured. In the five-match series against South Africa in June, we played exactly the same XI in all five matches. People were saying, 'why don't they change the XI?'….so I think we can't win either way," he said.

"Whatever we do, people are going to say that. But I think in the group and in the team, we are very confident and sure about what we've been doing. Sometimes it doesn't seem very apparent from the outside but there are a lot of things that people outside can't know. What niggles players are having…how we need to manage the players. If you notice, we were playing a Test match and at the same time, we were playing a series in Ireland. So there are many things that go into this," he added.

Teams that have directly qualified for the Super 12 round of the T20 World Cup -- as India have -- can make changes to their squad without ICC permission till October 15.

The Rohit Sharma-led side will begin its T20 World Cup campaign on October 23 with a game against archrivals Pakistan in Melbourne, which will be followed by matches on October 27 (vs Qualifier in Sydney), October 30 (vs South Africa in Perth), November 2 (vs Bangladesh in Adelaide) and November 6 (vs qualifier in Melbourne).

--IANS

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All India U16 Hockey: Olympian Vivek Singh Academy score revenge win

Pune, Oct 1 (IANS) Olympian Vivek Singh Academy, Varanasi won an exciting eight-goal thriller against Army Boys Sports Company, Bengaluru in an encounter that settled old scores on a day when goals rained in the 6th SNBP All-India Hockey Tournament (Boys Under-16) at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, here on Saturday.

On a day that witnessed 54 goals scored, the Olympian Vivek Singh Academy and Army Boys Sports Company (ABSC) encounter stood out for reasons enough to be a cracker.

The Pool-F encounter, to begin with, was a repeat of the final of the 2nd Hockey India Sub Junior Men Academy National Championship 2022 wherein ABSC emerged champions in a shootout at the expense of the boys from Varanasi.

Saturday's encounter began with the Varanasi side trailing early after ABSC, Bengaluru struck through Nitesh Sharma (5th). However, Vivek Yadav (11th) levelled through a penalty corner conversion to go into halftime 1-1.

On resumption, Rahul Yadav (42nd) converted a penalty corner to put the Varanasi side ahead, but then three minutes later ABSC's Daya Ram (45th) gained success off a penalty stroke to make it 2-2.

The match thereafter saw both teams level again. Arjun Chauhan (50th) off a penalty corner for Varanasi and Daya Ram (51st) for ABSC.

However, Olympian Vivek Singh Academy gained control to net two goals by Sonu Patel (52nd) -- off a penalty corner -- and Ajay Kumar Gond (59th) to avenge their loss at Gumanhera, New Delhi early this year.

Earlier, Pool-G recorded the biggest win of the tournament since inception with Agra-based Sukhjeevan Sports Academy notching up a 23-0 win over a hapless Olympian Baskaran Hockey Academy after leading 11-0 at the halfway stage.

The highlight of this big win was a 10-goal effort by Manish Kumar (2nd - pc, 25th, 31st, 35th, 37th, 41st - pc, 49th, 58th, 58th, 59th - ps).

Other winners of the day included; R.K. Roy Academy, Patna who downed Tamil Nadu Hockey Academy 6-0 in Pool E, Ritu Rani Hockey Academy, Varanasi completing a 9-0 rout over Mumbai School Sports Association, Mumbai in Pool-C and Grassroot Hockey overcoming Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, Kodagu 7-1 in Pool-H.

RESULTS:

Pool E: R.K. Roy, Patna: 6 (Ashutosh Pal 12th; Nicolas Topno 16th, 58th; Nitin 34th, 51st; Shashank Kumar 39th) bt Tamil Nadu Hockey Academy: 0. HT: 2-0

Pool G: Sukhjeevan Sports Academy, Agra: 23 (Manish Kumar 2nd (pc), 25th, 31st, 35th, 37th, 41st (pc), 49th, 58th, 58th, 59th (Ps); Akash Rajbhar 6th, 20th; Divyanshu Sharma 7th, 27th, 47th; Anurag Yadav 9th; Kunal Singh 14th, 47th; Nitin 16th (Ps), Ayush Bhatt 26th, 43rd; Dinesh Sharma 29th; Ankit Pippal 55th) bt Olympian Baskaran Hockey Academy: 0. HT: 11-0

Pool F: Olympian Vivek Singh Academy, Varanasi: 5 (Vivek Yadav 11th (pc); Rahul Yadav 42nd (pc); Arjun Chauhan 50th (pc); Sonu Patel 52nd (pc); Ajay Kumar Gond 59th) bt Army Boys Sports Company, Bengaluru; 3 (Nitesh Sharma 5th; Daya Ram 45th (Ps), 51st (pc). HT: 1-1

Pool-C: Ritu Rani Hockey Academy, Varanasi: 9 (Sunil 2nd; Amandeep 6th, 16th (pc), 28th (pc); Nitin 29th (pc); 37th; Aakash 39th (pc); 41st (pc); Sahil Motte 45th) bt Mumbai School Sports Association, Mumbai: 0. HT: 3-0

Pool-H: Grassroot Hockey: 7 (Suraj Kumar 4th, 39th (pc), 48th (pc); Virendra Koranga 16th (pc); Rohit Airy 44th, 45th, 50th) bt Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, Kodagu, Kerala: 1 (Yashwin Bopaiah 24th (pc)). HT: 1-1.

--IANS

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