Chhattisgarh Hockey League: Mainpat Titans will face Sanskardhani Strikers in the final of the Chhattisgarh Hockey League (CHL) on Sunday, after Pradeep Mor’s team got the better of Chinglensana Singh’s Bailadila Bulls 3-1 in the second semifinal on Saturday. This result came after Strikers emerged victorious 6-3 versus Nyayadhani Knights to enter the summit clash.
Unlike the first semifinal, the one between Bulls and Titans proved to be a quieter affair. Not taking away anything from the quality of the match, both teams put their best hockey on display. Sandeep Kumar opened the scoring for the Titans through a PC, and that remained the only goal from either side till the end of the first half.
It was the kind of half where both sides ground it out in the middle, with a lot of circle penetrations, and an equal number of tackles. A word for the defence: both were top-notch and did not commit mistakes in the circle to let the opposition get a lot of PCs.
Trying to break the deadlock, Mohit Nayak had a solid chance to score for Mainpat twice, but Bulls’ keeper Daleshwar Yadav did not give him an inch. Jaskaran Singh, on the other hand, missed the PC for Bulls, keeping them at nought, all credit to keeper Alfaz Khan. A similar story unfolded for Jaskaran in the last quarter, where he could not put enough power behind his shot to miss another PC.
The match was sealed by Titans in the second quarter, when Prince Bhagat scored with 10 minutes left on the clock. He went deep in the circle and came up with a perfect deflection to get the goal, taking the score to 2-0. From there on, there was no chance for Bailadila to make a comeback, while Mainpat went for the kill.
Prince scored again, his second of the encounter. In the dying moments of the match, Ankit Kujur did come up with a consolation goal, taking the score to 3-1, but that hardly helped the team’s cause.
Underdogs Sanskardhani Strikers play reverse uno card on Nyayadhani Knights.
The first semifinal of the CHL 2026 has to be one of the finest in the entire tournament, where Sanskardhani thrashed Nyayadhani 6-3 to enter the final. Finest, in terms of the skills on display from both sides, where neither wanted to back down, but one where eventually Strikers prevailed, despite being the underdogs.
Coming to the proceedings of the match, the scoring was opened by the Strikers fairly soon in the 1st quarter, when Shahrukh netted a goal on the flick, towards the right corner of the post. Soon, Knights’ Adarsh returned the favour with a field goal as well, bringing the score to 1-1.
Just before the 15-minute mark in the encounter, Nyayadhani got their second when Chirag converted a goal after being fed a ball from the midfield, bypassing all the Strikers’ defenders.
A similar pace, perhaps even better, was brought into the second quarter by both the teams, as goals came at a lightning pace. Then, Ashish Tani Purti scored his 13th in CHL 2026 via a PC and became the highest scorer. After that, a moment of brilliance came from the stick of Arbaj Ali in the 24th minute, when he scored his first goal.
The third quarter saw Shahrukh equalize with a field goal, dodging a couple of Knights’ defenders. Meanwhile, Shahrukh completed his hat-trick soon after, when Shamsher missed a PC chance, and the former scored on the rebound.
A similar pace, perhaps even better, was brought into the second quarter by both the teams, as goals came at a lightning pace. Then, Ashish Tani Purti scored his 13th in CHL 2026 via a PC and became the highest scorer. After that, a moment of brilliance came from the stick of Arbaj Ali in the 24th minute, when he scored his first goal.
Article Source: IANS
