Elevation,Cavalry off to a winning start

In the first match of the HH Maharaja Jiwaji Rao Scindia Gold Cup on Tuesday,defending champions Elevation defeated Gladiators 12-5.5. At the start of the 1st chukkar,Gladiators began with 3.5 goals on handicap. Simran opened the account for Elevation by putting in two superb goals in quick succession. Gerrardo Mazzini scored another one to increase their tally,extending their excellent start. Lt. Col. Shekhawat was the only one to score a goal for the Gladiators,but because of their handicap,the scoreline at the end of the first chukkar was 4 ½ – 3 goals in favour of Gladiators.

The second chukkar was ridden with fouls,a saw lot of wasted opportunities by both teams. Three fouls were converted by Gerrardo for his team,because of which Elevation took the lead for the first time. The Gladiators failed to score a single goal in this chukkar. In the third,the storyline was similar — Elevation scored three field goals and Gladiators couldn’t manage a single one. By the time it ended,Elevation were firmly in control,the scoreboard reading 9 – 4.5 in their favour.

The fourth & final chukkar saw Gerrardo single-handedly score two goals from the other end of the field. At a subsequent throw-in,he got behind the ball once again and passed it to Bhawani Klavi,who went on to score the final goal for Elevation.

The second match of the day between Sona Polo and Cavalry at the Jaipur Polo Ground was a much closer affair,with Cavalry edging past their opponents by half a goal. Major Ravi Rathore scored three goals for the winners,with Vishal Chauhan getting one,while Angad Kalaan’s three strikes for Sona Polo went in vain. Abhimanyu Pathak scored the only other goal for the losing side.