Hockey India League 2024-25: Bengal Tigers book semis spot with win over Pipers; Harmanpreet fires Soorma past Lancers

Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers pulled off a last-gasp 2-1 win over Delhi SG Pipers to become the first team to qualify for the Hockey India League (HIL) semifinal here at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium on Monday.

Pipers, who are eliminated from the running for the semis, held on for the majority of the game after Tomas Domene drove through the middle and fired a reverse hit into the roof of the net, giving Jamie Carr no chance in goal.

But as has been the theme with the Pipers, which has lost a match five times after taking the lead, the team was undone again in the final five minutes.

Tigers’ persistence paid off when it won its third short corner in only the 55 ^th minute when a variation allowed skipper Rupinder Pal Singh the time and space to place his drag-flick low in the corner.

With less than 120 seconds left on the clock, Gurswak Singh surged into the circle from the right to play the ball into Sebastien Dockier, who diverted the ball into the net to send the Tigers into delirium.

In the second game of the evening, a masterclass from Harmanpreet Singh set up a 5-2 comeback win for JSW Soorma Hockey Club over Vedanta Kalinga Lancers to move into third in the standings.

In its final game, Lancers threw everything at Soorma but came up short. It went ahead in the fifth minute through Dilpreet Singh as he reverse hit the ball into the net with as many as nine Soorma players in the circle.

After withstanding multiple attacking forays, Soorma drew level after Harmanpreet, who found himself in space near the halfway line, slid a piercing pass along the ground for Prabhjot Singh to deflect the ball in.

Harmanpreet continued to have his say through the second half when he struck twice from penalty corners either side of setting up Nicolas Keenan for a crunching tomahawk finish for the third goal.

Brinkman provided a glimmer of hope for Lancers when he pulled one back and set up Gursahibjit Singh for a goal in the 56 ^th minute but it couldn’t add more to the tally.