Chhattisgarh Hockey League Night Three: Royals Get the Champions, Knights Can Go Clear at the Top
Two nights in, and Raipur’s new league already has a personality: goals everywhere, and nobody coasting. Saturday’s Night Three keeps it rolling with Rajdhani Royals v Chakradhar Champions at 5:30pm IST (5:00pm PKT), then Nyayadhani Knights v Sanskardhani Strikers at 7:30pm IST (7:00pm PKT). Both at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Hockey Stadium, both live on JioHotstar.
The early game is the one to watch. The Royals have played once and lost it, 2-1 to the Knights on opening night, so they’re sitting on zero points with the season already moving. And now they run into the Champions, who won the wildest game of the season so far on Friday night: 6-4 over the Strikers, ten goals, lead changes, the works. The Champions clearly don’t do quiet evenings. The Royals need to find something fast, because the team across from them scores for fun.
Then the Knights, who’ve had a night off since beating the Royals on Thursday, take on a Strikers side with nothing to lose. Yes, the Strikers lost 6-4 on Friday. But they scored four. A team that puts four past anyone is dangerous at 0 points — they know they can find the net, they just need to stop leaking them at the other end. A Knights win takes them to six points and clear at the top of the table, at least overnight.
The table after two nights
Nyayadhani Knights and Chakradhar Champions both sit on three points — the only two teams to win so far. Mainpat Titans and Bailadila Bulls have a point each from Friday’s 3-3 draw. The Royals and the Strikers are pointless. Win tonight and you’re setting the early pace; lose and you’re chasing from the bottom.
Our take: the league’s only two winners both play tonight, and both are favourites. If the Knights and the Champions both win again, the table starts to split into haves and have-nots very early. But Friday’s 3-3 and 6-4 say this league doesn’t really do form. Expect goals.
Related: A New League Starts Tomorrow in Raipur, and Sardar Singh Is Fronting It, Opening Night in Raipur: Chhattisgarh Hockey League Starts Tonight, and It’s All Live on JioHotstar, Nyayadhani Knights Beat Rajdhani Royals 2-1 in Chhattisgarh Hockey League Opening Night, Chhattisgarh Hockey League Night Two: Titans and Bulls Share Six Goals, Champions Win a Ten-Goal Thriller, Leagues.
