Ranchi: Ranchi Rhinos came from a goal down to beat Delhi Waveriders 2-1 and win the inaugural Hockey India League in a thrilling summit clash in front of a capacity home crowd at the Astroturf Hockey Stadium here today.
The Rhinos were trailing for most part of the match after Simon Child gave Delhi the lead in the 25th minute.
But the Ranchi outfit never gave up and displayed tremendous fighting spirit to score through Austin Smith (55th) before Manpreet Singh (63rd) scored a late winner for the home team.
Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh Wizards rode on captain V R Raghunath’s four goals, including a hat-trick, to finish third, defeating Jaypee Punjab Warriors 4-3 in the bronze medal play-off match.
As expected, the title clash, a match between the two best outfits of the tournament, displayed scintillating hockey by both Delhi and Ranchi, which was fast and free-flowing.
The Rhinos seemed to enjoy playing in front of a vociferous home crowd as they overshadowed the Waveriders, at least, in the first quarter.. (PTI)
