Waveriders, Warriors hold the edge in HIL semifinals
The Waveriders, ended their league engagements on the second spot with 39 points from 10 games ahead of the Wizards.
Going by form as well as reputation, Delhi Waveriders would start as favourites against Uttar Pradesh Wizards in the first semifinal of the HIL on Saturday.
The Waveriders, ended their league engagements on the second spot with 39 points from 10 games ahead of the Wizards. The Wizards endured a mixed form this year and finished their league campaign in third position with 28 points.
On head-to-head record this year, the Sardar Singh-led side has a better record than the Wizards. While the match between the two sides ended in a 1-1 draw, the Waveriders recorded a close 4-3 win over the Wizards in their next meeting this year.
But come Saturday, it will be a completely different ball game as this would be the first knock-out match of the tournament for both teams. Under new coach Cedric D’souza, the Delhi outfit has looked formidable. In young Yuvraj Walmiki, Akashdeep Singh, Talwinder Singh, Kiwi Simon Child and veteran Rajpal Singh, the Waveriders possess a talented forwardline.
The Waveriders’ midfield is led by the Sardar and Gurbaj Singh, while the backline will be manned by goalkeepers in Nicolas Jacobi. On the other hand, Wizards failed to get their campaign going in the tournament.
Ramandeep Singh looked ordinary in the tournament so far, but youngsters such as Nikkin Thiimaiah, SK Uthappa and PradeepMor has impressed with their skills. In such a situation, the Wizards would look to draw inspiration from Dutchman Teun de Nooijer, VR Raghunath, Australian Luke Doerner and Tushar Khandekar.
In the second semifinal,table-toppers Jaypee Punjab Warriors would look to continue their winning streak against Ranchi Rhinos. Punjab Warriors had a dream campaign in the this year, having lost just one match so far, that too against Delhi Waveriders in the tournament-opener.
After the initial hiccup, the Warriors won seven games while two ended in no result to draw curtains to their league engagements on top with 40 points from 10 games. To add to it, the Warriors boast of a 100 per cent record against the Rhinos this year, having beaten them 4-2 and 3-2.
So understandably, the Warriors would go into the crucial match high on confidence against a side which has looked a pale shadow of itself this year. The Warriors forwardline will be led by Jamie Dwyer of Australia.
Apart from Dwyer, the Warriors have a mixed bag of youth and experience like Affan Yousuf, Gurmail Singh, Malak Singh, Dharamvir Singh, S V Sunil, Shivendra Singh and Australian Kieran Govers among others.
Sandeep threat
The Warriors also have a dangerous penalty corner specialist in Sandeep Singh, while the goal will be manned by none other than world’s best goalkeeper Jaap Stockmann of The Netherlands.
On the other hand, the Rhinos’ campaign in the tournament has been far from impressive this year. The title holders won just four and lost five matches while one ended in draw to finish the league stages at the fourth position with just 26 points.
But Rhinos know it well that it will be a completely new game and if they can post a win against the Warriors, the results of the league stages will be a thing of the past.
Live on star sports 1: DW vs UPW at 5.53 pm, RR vs JPW at 7.50 pm
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