Murugappa Day 7: BPCL Can Book Their Semi-Final Spot, Malaysia Chase a Second Win, IOCL Must Beat Army
Wednesday in Chennai is the day the Murugappa Gold Cup starts to sort itself out. Three games, both pools in play, and the semi-final race gets a lot clearer by the evening.
It starts with the Pool B leaders. BPCL against Indian Navy at 2:00pm PKT, and BPCL have been the tournament’s most convincing side so far. Three wins from three, 12 goals scored, and the latest of them a 1-0 grind past Malaysia’s juniors on Day 5. A fourth win here, and they’re on 12 points with a game to spare. Nobody’s catching that. Navy, though, are no pushovers. They’ve got four points from two games, they’re the only unbeaten side left in Pool B besides BPCL, and a win of their own puts them on seven and right in the thick of it. This is the day’s best game on paper, and it kicks the whole card off.
Then Malaysia’s juniors are straight back out at 3:45pm PKT against the Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu. The Malaysians will still have Tuesday’s 2-1 win over SAI-NCOE in their legs, the one built on two early penalty corners and some stubborn defending late on. Win this and they’re on six points from three games, which changes their whole tournament. Tamil Nadu, though, have drawn two of their three and lost the other, and they know a win here keeps their own hopes alive. The hosts against the visitors, both with something real at stake. Should be a proper contest.
The night game is the one with the most desperation in it. IOCL against Indian Army at 5:30pm PKT, and IOCL simply have to win. They’ve drawn two and lost one, they’re sitting on two points from three games in Pool A, and they only rescued a point on Tuesday when Roshan Minz deflected in a corner at the death against Karnataka. Army have four points from three, including that 6-2 battering of PNB on Day 5, and they’ll fancy themselves. If IOCL win, they jump above Army in the table. If they don’t, their tournament is effectively over with a game still to play.
Pool A, for the record, has Indian Railways out in front on nine points from three wins, with Army on four, Karnataka done on three from four games, and IOCL and PNB both on two. Pool B has BPCL on nine, Navy on four, Malaysia on three, Tamil Nadu on two and SAI on one. By tonight, at least one of those pools will look very different.
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