The Hero Hockey India League has generated much excitement in the first five matches and there were lofty expectations from all and sundry at the Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium in Lucknow as Uttar Pradesh Wizards took on Delhi Waveriders in a crucial league match.

Playing in front of a crowd of 7,000, the Wizards, who showed superb combined play in their opening game win over Jaypee Punjab Warriors, inexplicably appeared out of sorts in the first quarter. Their midfield hardly looked like playing as a cohesive unit.

Delhi Waveriders, on the other hand, were rock-solid in the midfield with skipper Sardar Singh not allowing any open spaces for the UP side.

The Riders enjoyed possession for most part and forced their first penalty corner in the third minute, which resulted in a follow-on PC from which Wizards’ Australian goalkeeper George Bazeley pulled off a fine save of a potent shot from Rupinder Pal Singh.

The continued controlled possession paid off for the Riders when they drew first blood in the seventh minute when Sardar Singh fed a killer pass to New Zealander Simon Child, whose stinging reverse hit brook no answer from Bazeley.

The Wizards showed some urgency in the closing stages of the opening quarter when they forced their first penalty corner in the sixteenth minute when SK Uthappa was obstructed inside the Riders’ D. The short corner resulted in a follow-on PC. Wizards captain Raghunath failed to make the most of it as Riders’ German goalkeeper Nicolas Jacobi, who was hardly tested in the first fifteen minutes of play, effected a fine save.

The Delhi outfit put Wizards under pressure at the start of the second quarter when they earned their third penalty corner in the 20the minute as German Oskar Deecke played on to the foot of one of the Delhi defenders. Rupinder failed to slam home as Wizards survived a potential goal-scoring scare.

The Wizards started to get some flow going in their attacks in the second quarter. Veteran Dutch forward Teun De Nooijer, sped down the left of the Delhi citadel but unfairly tackled by a Delhi defender, which resulted in their third penalty corner.

Delhi skipper strongly objected to the umpire Harshavardhan’s decision to award a PC and was accordingly green-carded. The short corner saw a goalmouth melee prompting the umpire to whistle for a follow-on PC. Raghunath finally made it count, clobbering one past Jacobi to restore parity for the Wizards in the 25th minute as both teams went into  half time with a 1-1 scoreline.

Delhi were reduced to 10-man in the third quarter as Yuvraj Walmiki was shown the yellow card for a tackle on Raghunath.

Wizards forwardline cut a disappointing figure. Save for the occasional brilliance of Nooijer, the rest struggled to give a good account of themselves. India discard Tushar Khandker flopped for the second straight game – something which would not do his national comeback plans any good.

The UP outfit had a chance to go ahead in the closing stages of the third quarter but Pradhan Somanna fed Netherlands’ Jeroen Herztberger, who bungled that opportunity.

Delhi appeared disjointed upfront in the last two quarters. Gurwinder Singh Chandi, Danish Mujtaba and Yuvraj Walmiki had a bad day in office. Yuvraj once again let his team down with a second suspension – shown the yellow card for a harsh challenge on Netherlands’ Jolie Wouter – he earlier served a five minute suspension (was yellow carded) in the third quarter.

The final quarter was devoid of free-flowing hockey as both teams tried to control the midfield.

Delhi had an opportunity to go ahead when they earned their fourth penalty corner two minutes from the final hooter. The Riders tried an indirect direction and messed it up.

The final two minutes did not produce the match-clinching goal as both teams held out for a 1-1 draw – which was also the first draw of the league.

With this draw, Delhi Waveriders have reached the top of the points table with 12 points from three games, while Uttar Pradesh Wizards occupied the third spot in the standings with 7 points from two matches.

Delhi captain Sardar Singh thanked the Lucknow crowd for their support.

UP captain Raghunath said his team was happy with the draw. “It was a fast-paced match. It is better to come out with a draw than losing.”

The Astroturf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi was packed to capacity. And the occasion was no less significant – it was Rhinos’ first home match and the vociferous crowd was fully behind them as their favourite boys went on from where they had left off in their league opener against Jaypee Punjab Warriors.

The boisterous crowd also had former India and Pakistan cricketers – Sanjay Manjrekar and Wasim Akram – watching the proceedings. The Rhinos took some time to settle down even as Mumbai Magicians coach Ric Charlesworth replaced their captain, handing over the captain’s armband to Liam De Young from Sandeep Singh for their team’s second match.

Rhinos controlled the midfield with captain Moritz Fuertse and the likes of Kothajit Singh and Birendra Lakra, conspicuous by his red headband, operating as a cohesive unit.

The possession play enjoyed by Rhinos bore fruit when young Vikas Choudhary put his side ahead in the 9th minute with a reverse flick, making the most of a clinical cross from the right flank from Nick Wilson.

Mumbai Magicians muffed a chance to level things when seasoned Glenn Turner failed to tap in a pass from Matthew Swann in the closing stages of the first quarter.

Rhinos upped the ante in the second quarter even as Magicians showed no signs of posing any threat to their citadel.

The red brigade went 2-0 up in the 22nd minute when Mandeep Singh scored from close range after his team-mate Nick Wilson’s hit was stopped by Magicians goalkeeper PR Sreejesh. The move was nicely set up by Ashley Jackson.

The goal further pepped up the Rhinos, who orchestrated attacking moves from both flanks. Rhinos’ first goal scorer Vikas Choudhary earned his team’s first penalty corner when he was obstructed inside the Magicians’ D.

South African Austin Smith slammed home a powerful shot to give the Rhinos a 3-0 cushion in the 29th minute.

In stark contrast, Mumbai forwardline failed to ask serious questions of the Rhinos defence in the first thirty-five minutes of play. The Mumbai outfit were let down by Turner, who struggled to get going while Faizal Saari and Chinglensana Singh shone in patches.

Such was the dominance of Rhinos in the first two quarters that their goalkeeper Franciso Cortes was reduced to a mere spectator, which is a fair indication about how they held sway over the proceedings.

Mumbai Magicians desperately needed a goal at the start of the third quarter and showed more purpose in their attacks.

The Magicians earned their first penalty corner but drag-flick expert Sandeep Singh could not capitalize on it. The disappointment of missing the short corner was atoned for when Chinglensana Singh slotted home from an indirect execution of their team’s second penalty corner – surprisingly drag-flicker Sandeep Singh was on the bench as part of the rolling substitution role.

Magicians tried everything to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter but Rhinos held firm. The Mumbai side stitched attacking moves but seemed bereft of ideas inside the Rhinos’ D.

Magicians suffered a big blow in the dying moments when they were reduced to 10-man as Anup Valmiki was yellow-carded for a harsh tackle on a Rhinos player – those five minutes outside the turf cost them dearly.

Rhinos leapfrogged to the top of the points table ahead of Delhi Waveriders on better goal average, with both gleaning ten points from two matches.

The win also broke the league’s four consecutive sequence of identical 2-1 victory margins.

Ranchi Rhinos captain Moritz Fuertse said his team will only get better in the coming matches. “We have a good team and we are playing well. Hope to maintain this momentum in our future games.”

Mumbai Magicians captain Liam De Young sounded positive despite two straight defeats.”We had bit of a disrupted preparation but we are slowly getting close to our best.