Delhi Waveriders crushed Kalinga Lancers 6-0 to storm into the semi-finals of the Hockey India League on Wednesday.
The semi-finals and finals will be played at the Astro Turf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi over the weekend.
The first quarter started with Delhi Waveriders making many circle penetrations. The response to the early attack also came from the Kalinga Lancers when a shot from the away team striker closely missed the goal. Kalinga Lancer’s defense was looking strong as they started predicting the home team's moves and didn't allow them to hold possession of the ball.
The away team started to put their strides into the match with attacking moves but none of them converted into a goal. Delhi tried to make counter attacking moves but the Lancers defense held strong.
The second quarter started with the Delhi Waveriders looking to make inroads in the do-or-die battle and the first opportunity came in the 18th minute and Rupinder Pal Singh converted the penalty corner. The golden opportunity for the Lancers came in the ending moments of the second quarter from a penalty corner but a beautiful save by Devon Manchester stopped Mortiz Fuerste from levelling the score.
The third quarter started with the Waveriders pressing hard to extend the lead and was awarded with a penalty corner in the 33rd minute which was put into the back of the net by Rupinder Pal for his second goal of the match.
Delhi looked at their attacking best and the striking duo of Mandeep Singh and Talwinder Singh penetrated the circle with finesse, creating a passing opportunity for Harjeet Singh which was tapped into the goal by Simon Child. The goal extended the lead to 4-0 in the 34th minute for the Waveriders.
The fourth quarter started with Kalinga Lancers looking to bounce back. The first penalty corner opportunity for the away team came in the 49th minute but the home team goalkeeper again denied them the chance to score. Delhi capitalised on a missed penalty corner by the away team and Parvinder Singh made them pay with a field goal to take the score to 6-0 in the 56th minute.
The first semi-final will be played between Jaypee Punjab Warriors and Delhi Waveriders and the second between defending
champions Ranchi Rays and Kalinga Lancers.