ONGC in Murugappa Gold Cup hockey semi-finals

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) became the first team to enter the semi-finals of the 85th All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament as they recorded their third consecutive win with a 3-1 result against Indian Overseas Bank, on Monday.

ONGC progress to the round of four was confirmed when Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) overcame defending champions Air India 3-0 in another pool A match. The result knocked out Air India while cementing ONGC's semi-final spot.

In pool B, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) all but confirmed their progress to the semi-finals by remaining unbeaten after three outings as they defeated Punjab National Bank 4-1. ONGC dominated IOB, the local league champions and could have won by a bigger margin but for the prodigality of their forwards in missing scoring chances.

Pramod put ONGC ahead in the sixth minute, scoring off a Mandeep Singh pass. Penalty corner specialist Diwakar Ram came good with a drag-flick in the ninth before converting a penalty stroke in the 20th to give ONGC a 3-0 advantage.

In the second half, IOB made concerted efforts and pulled one back through Senthil who flicked home a penalty stroke following a stick-check offence in the 40th minute. Thereafter, both teams threw caution to the winds and played attacking hockey, but woeful finish pegged the score-line.

In the day's first match, IOC were off to a strong start as Didar Singh converted a seventh minute penalty corner and in the 33rd, Hamza Mujtaba found the boards from another set-piece while Deepak Thakur (40th) and Anthil Arjun (68th) added to the tally.

For PNB, who had lost to Army XI in their first outing, Damandeep Singh (48th) scored the consolation goal.

Later, Air India gave yet another disappointing performance and even the presence of former India star Dhanraj Pillay failed to inspire the side against the well-drilled BPCL.

BPCL took the lead in the 24th minute when Sher Singh converted a penalty corner, but almost immediately blotted his record by receiving a yellow card suspension for an aggressive tackle.

Although down to 10 men for a brief period, BPCL comfortably kept the disjointed Air India at bay and took a decisive 2-0 lead in the 45th when Amar Aiyamma found the boards following a fine run on the left by Jarnail Singh.

In the last quarter, veteran Pillay rolled back the years with a deadly run down the middle, but his flick off the wrong foot sailed over the crossbar.

Air India were punished for the lapse as Birendra Lakra struck BPCL's third goal in the 68th, the ball going in off a defender's foot.