Nikhil slams hat-trick

Nikhil, pumped up with that first breakthrough, got into top gear, lobbed the ball intelligently over Shishir seven minutes later and set up a 2-1 lead at half time.

In the 45th minute came Nikhil’s hat-trick, the second of the tournament, when he shot home the rebound after Ratnesh’s effort was bounced back by Shishir. The first hat-trick belongs to Ankit Kaushik of Modern School, Vasant Vihar.

In the first match at Modern School, the formidable Chote Ram Zamindar School, Sonepat, picked up full points from their 1-0 Group B win against Tagore International. Ram Chander shot home the winner in the 17th minute, beating two defenders after taking the ball all the way from the right flank. CRZ could have increased the margin, but for two superb long rangers that hit the crossbar in the second half.

In other matches, last year’s runners-up, Saini School Rewari, also began their campaign with a win defeating SS Khalsa 2-0 in their Group D match. Ravinder scored both the goals for Saini.

Three first half goals took reigning champions, Motilal Nehru Sports School, Rai to a comfortable win against Springdales School, Pusa Road. While Sanjiv Kaushik struck a brace, Sunil Punia netted the third for the visitors.