New Delhi: Delhi Wizards held onto their nerves amid high drama here at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium on Monday to register an anxious 2-1 victory in their return match against the Mumbai Marines that pushed them up to joint third in the points table of the World Series Hockey (WSH).
The technical bench was kept busy in the dying minutes where after overturning a penalty stroke awarded to Delhi, it disallowed Mumbai's equaliser to help the hosts to their fourth win of the WSH.
The game was played at a nerve-jangling pace, with both the teams playing end-to-end hockey that kept the partisan crowd on the edge of their seats. Delhi skipper Shakeel Abbasi was once again named the Man of the Match for scoring the winning goal.
Vikramjeet Singh put the Wizards ahead with his drag-flick off the first penalty corner the hosts earned in the 15th minute. But Mumbai equalised seconds later, also by a penalty-corner conversion, when Ajmer Singh beat Delhi custodian Kamaldeep Singh's defence. That ended the first quarter at 1-1.
Delhi enjoyed pacey five minutes before the half-time hooter, during which they scored the winner. In the 35th minute, Abbasi's centre from the left flank found the net off a deflection by Mumbai defender Ajmer to make it 2-1 at half-time.
In the second half, Mumbai picked up more pace but were kept at bay by the Delhi defence. The match then entered it's most dramatic phase in the last five minutes. In the 67th minute, Rajpal Singh's brilliant solo raid was obstructed in the Mumbai circle, forcing the umpire to point towards the penalty-stroke spot. However, Mumbai questioned the call, after which the technical bench overruled the decision.
Mumbai's Australian recruit Troy Sutherland seemed to have scored the equaliser in the 69th minute in a goal-mouth melee. But this time, Delhi asked for a review and after numerous replays, the goal was disallowed, much to the dismay of Mumbai dug-out.
The Marines earned their fifth penalty corner in the 70th minute to add to the dramatic climax. Mumbai tried a variation instead of the drag-flick but were unlucky to find the crossbar and the rebound was cleared by Delhi, which followed scenes of Wizards running onto the pitch in ecstasy.
Before Monday's win, Delhi had won three matches while losing four and drawing one. But this win took them to joint third on the leaderboard with 13 points, similar to Chennai Cheetahs and Bhopal Badshahs. Mumbai wore an identical look in the points table before this encounter and remain at the seventh spot with 10 points. Both the teams had played out a 2-2 draw in the first-leg at Mumbai on March 11.
The Wizards next play an away game against the Chandigarh Comets on Tuesday, while the Marines take on table-toppers Sher-E-Punjab at Jalandhar a day later.
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