Hockey India League: Abhishek leads the way as Indian internationals shine in Sharchi Rarh Bengal Tigers’ thrilling win over Hyderabad Toofans | Hockey News

The opening night of the men’s Hockey India League saw a 2-2 draw in regulation time where all four goals were scored overseas players. But in Match 2 on Sunday, the Indian internationals took centerstage for Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers in a thrilling 3-2 win against Hyderabad Toofans at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela.
Abhishek, the 2nd most expensive player signed up in the auction, wasn’t on the scoresheet but he had a significant hand in all three goals for the Tigers. Jugraj Singh (9′), Sukhjeet Singh (20′) and Affan Yousuf (36′) were on target for the Bengal franchise, who raced to a 3-0 lead. But Toofans fought back impressively, thanks to goals from Tim Brand (41′) and Arthur de Sloover (59′). A missed penalty stroke earlier in the match Maico Casella, thanks to a stunning save Jamie Carr for the Tigers in goal, ultimately proved costly for the Hyderabad franchise.
After a patient start Toofans, the Tigers started to gain momentum in the opening quarter, with their aerial passes posing a constant threat. Sam Lane won a penalty corner from one such move. Receiving a strong injection from Abhishek, Jugraj became the first Indian scorer of the season with a rocket of a drag flick that thundered into the roof of the net.

Moments from the thrilling and action-packed first half! 🥶
Watch the LIVE action on DD Sports, Waves, Sony TEN 1, Sony TEN 3, Sony TEN 4 and Sony LIV!#HeroHIL #HockeyKaJashn #HILisBack #HeroHILisBack #HYDTvsSRBT @HeroMotoCorp @VidaDotWorld pic.twitter.com/tQvW16EqYi
— Hockey India League (@HockeyIndiaLeag) December 29, 2024
From there on the Tigers dictated proceedings as Toofans struggled to get a foothold in the second quarter. They did get a couple of PCs, but their high-profile signing Gonzalo Peillat couldn’t convert either.
Tigers then extended their lead through a stunning field goal. Abhishek was sharp in the build-up down the middle, then Sebastien Dockier did well down the right line to find a pass into the circle where Abhishek had continued his run and his cutback was then fired in Sukhjeet. Toofans had a good chance to halve the deficit before half time and that is when Carr saved Casella’s stroke.
At the interval, Toofans head coach Pasha Gademan admitted that they were allowing Tigers to come at their defence a little too easily in the first half and hoped to convert the chances that were being created. But it was the Tigers who struck first in Q3,
Affan, who played his last match for the Indian men’s team at the 2017 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, had a moment to savour. The instigator was Abhishek once again. From a deeper midfield position, he won the ball back and played a quick pass down the middle to Affan who found a nice pocket of space, drove into the circle, and fired home a powerful forehand shot.
But Toofans kept fighting. Rohit Singh Irengbam, all of 17, set up Tim Brand with a fine inside-out pass into the danger area from the left and the Australian tapped it in. With a minute left in the match, De Sloover scored off a deflection from Peillat’s effort on goal and it made for a nerve-wracking finish. Then with seconds left, there was more drama. Toofans thought they won another PC but the referees ruled that the clock had wound down, much to the dismay of the Hyderabad players.
While the Tigers did end up finding themselves under pressure, their captain Rupinder Pal Singh had a fine match in defence, even though he wasn’t involved in the penalty corner situations. The Tokyo Olympics bronze medall, who has since retired from international hockey, stood tall in critical comments, coming up with crucial defensive interceptions.
Soorma clinch shootout bonus
The second match on Sunday turned out to be a rather cagey affair. Despite featuring quite a few bonafide superstar goalscorers of the international game, Soorma Hockey Club and Tamil Nadu Dragons were unable to break the deadlock for three quarters. When the opening goal eventually came, it was a messy one. Both teams were repeatedly looking for penalty corners, given the quality of flickers they had. In the final quarter, Jip Janssen’s shot on goal was saved initially but Nathan Ephraums somehow squeezed the ball past the goal line.

Soorma’s equaliser too came off a penalty corner situation as Gurjant Singh lofted in a rebound. The match finished 1-1 in regulation time, then Belgian legend Vincent Vanasch ensured Soorma picked up the bonus point after the shootout. While Harmanpreet Singh couldn’t quite find his radar from PCs, he produced a moment of magic in the shootout with a 360-degree dummy to open the scoring.

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