Defending champs BPCL hold IOCL
Bangalore   27-Jan-2011

Defending champions Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited survived by the skin of their teeth to eke out a nail-biting 1-1 draw against IndianOil in the Ozone Group State Super Division League hockey championship here on Thursday.

Sher Singh fired BPCL ahead in the first minute of the match while drag-flicker VR Raghunath, who had a miserable day in the office, brought IOCL back in the 23rd minute as the two teams deservingly split points at the KSHA stadium.

Despite the stalemate when victory was their’s for the taking, unbeaten IOCL stay in pole position with 25 points from nine matches. A victory against Air India (21 points from eight matches) in their final match on Friday will help them retain the title while a draw too should do good, provided BPCL (23 points) don’t win by a margin of 13 goals in their final clash against Namdhari XI on Saturday.

After their stupendous 6-2 mauling of Air India on Wednesday, BPCL began from where they had left off. Even before IOCL could settle down, BPCL’s Sher Singh stole a loose ball from the midfield, dribbled down the centre and with marking around him almost non-existent, the striker charged into the circle before slotting it easily past a stunned goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan.

Having got the goal, BPCL controlled the match well, marking IOCL players brilliantly and offering them very little space to operate. Finding it increasingly difficult to penetrate, IOCL opted for the long passes and to their dismay the strikers failed to collect on most occasions.

The biggest setback for IOCL was an off day for their star penalty corner specialist Raghunath. The leading goal scorer of the tournament has single-handely scripted many victories for IOCL but sadly could find the back of the goal just once in six attempts.

While Raghunath had a forgettable day evident by his furious reaction after the sound of the final hooter, BPCL goalkeeper Swinder Singh must be credited for producing three brilliant saves that kept his side in the contest until the end.