Rourkela, Feb 1: Jugraj Singh slammed a hat-trick as Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers clinched the men’s Hockey India League title after beating Hyderabad Toofans 4-3 in the summit clash here on Saturday.
Jugraj scored in the 25th, 32nd and 35th minutes, while Sam Lane (54th) added another goal for the Bengal Tigers.
Gonzalo Peillat (9th and 39th) and Amandeep Lakra (26th) were the scorers for the Toofans.
HIL, which began on December 28, 2024, was revived after a gap of seven years.
The title made the Bengal Tigers richer by Rs 3 crore besides the trophy, while Hyderabad Toofans received Rs 2 crore for finishing as runners-up.
It was a tense contest from the first whistle with both teams taking turns to outwit others’ defence.
The Tigers employed aerial passes regularly, resulting in a penalty corner four minutes into the game but the Toofans withstood all three attempts on goal from Jugraj.
The Toofans showed more initiative as the quarter progressed and earned a penalty corner of their own. And Gonzalo Peillat stepped up to flick the ball past Tigers’ goalie Jamie Carr to hand his side a crucial lead halfway into the first quarter.
The Toofans continued to be on the front foot as the second quarter began while the Tigers remained relevant with occasional counterattacks.With six minutes left in the quarter, Abhishek earned a penalty corner for the Tigers and Jugraj powered the ball into the left corner with a thunderous drag flick to restore parity.
The Toofans responded by earning a penalty corner in the next minute and Amandeep found the back of the net with a powerful flick to give his team the lead again.
The Tigers slowed down the tempo to create a clear goal scoring chance in the third quarter, resulting in a penalty corner.And, Jugraj picked out the left bottom corner with another powerful drag-flick to beat Toofans’ keeper Bikramjit and level the scores again.
Soon after, from another penalty corner, Jugraj found the back of the net again with another drag-flick to complete his hat-trick and give the Tigers the lead.
The Toofans went on to peg the Tigers into their half minutes later and earned a penalty corner. This time Peillat picked out the bottom right corner to make it 3-3 with lightning quick drag-flick. (PTI)
