Mumbai, Punjab post easy wins

Punjab XI, the National Games champion packed with internationals, made their intentions clear from start. There was perfect rapport among the forwards. They indulged in short passes and timely breakaway moves, that had the Karnataka defence in tatters. Baljit Singh Dhillon and Baljit Singh Bhullar combined effectively and with an experienced midfield trio of Ramandeep Singh, Harpreet Singh and Balwant Singh moving upfront and down as the moment warranted.But what really bothered the Karnataka forwards was the solid defence screened by Pargat Singh and Jagdev Singh. In comparison Karnataka, just had a few junior internationals. Their midfield manoeuverability was impressive but lacked the lethal finish when it mattered most.

Punjab took the lead in the 15th minute. A bout of passing by Bhullar and Gurusewak had the rival defence falling back and the latter scored off a perfectly timed reverse flick.

Punjab dominated play and the Karnataka defence were finding it tough to ward off the threats. Off the third penalty corner, Punjab scored again. Harbhajan Singh side stepped the onrushing defender and with a neat scoop sent the ball to the left corner of the post. With another penalty corner, Dhillon settled the issue. A quick body swerve got him past a defender and pushed the ball to the far corner of the net.

Sharing two goals in the first half Mumbai struck twice in the second to defeat Services. Gavin Ferreira opened the account for Mumbai by connectinga pass from Mahesh Bagade in the 9th minute while Kujur equalised for Services in the 15th minute. In the second half, Dhanraj Pillai and Ravi Nayak scored within a span of five minutes to post a comfortable victory.

CRPF hold Air-India: After taking the lead, the fancied Air-India, Mumbai allowed CRPF to strike back and lost valuable points in their opening Pool A match. T Kujur drew first blood for CRPF in the 17th minute while Kishore Kumar restored parity four minutes later. In the second half, Devender Kumar gave A-I the lead but 12 minutes from close, Mukesh Kumar equalised to deny A-I an outright victory.