WSH PHOTOS: Mumbai Marines taste first victory at home

Mumbai Marines eked out a solitary goal victory over Bhopal Badshahs to earn their first few points in the World Series Hockey clash at the MHA-Mahindra Stadium Mumbai late on Friday night.

The match-winner was scored in the 25th minute of the game for Marines by their Australian recruit Troy Sutherland with a grounder from the top of the circle.

The victory for Mumbai was their first in two games, following the 5-7 defeat to Pune Strykers in a rip-roaring opening clash at the same venue.

The Badshahs had come into the game following a 4-3 victory over Chandigarh Comets on February 29.

The younger brother of Yuvraj Walmiki stole the limelight from the India and international stars as he was awarded the man-of-the-match prize.

He dedicated the award to their German coach Andrew Meredith.Mumbai were lucky not to concede the equaliser in the tenth minute of the second half of the match when Sameer Dad's deflection was saved by captain Adrian D'Souza.

The Marines now take on Comets in their third match on March 4 while the Badshahs  travel to Bangalore to take on Karnataka Lions on March 5.

Delhi Wizards made a winning start to their World Series Hockey campaign, defeating Karnataka Lions 3-2 in their first match.

Wizards scored a goal each in the first three quarters through Vikramjeet Singh (2nd minute), ace Pakistani forward Shakeel Abbasi (19th) and captain Rajpal Singh (51st) to pocket full three points from the game.

Abbasi doubled the lead in the 19th minute scoring a beautiful field goal from German Philip Sunkel's pass from the left flank.

The Lions tried hard to force a comeback into the match in the last two quarters and scored two goals through four-time Olympian Dhanraj Pillay (36th) and Ravipal Singh (48th).Veterans like Dhanraj and Arjun Halappa, both representing Karnataka Lions, were clearly passed their prime.

The Wizards will next play Pune Strykers, while Lions will travel to Jalandhar to face Sher-E-Punjab.