By IANS
Chandigarh : Chandigarh Dynamos edged past Hyderabad Sultans 5-3 via the tie-breakers to enter the final after the first semi-final of the Premier Hockey League (PHL) ended in a 1-1 draw at the Sector 42 Stadium here Saturday.
Chandigarh Dynamos made a dramatic comeback into the match with seconds to go in the silver-time period. After a dull and drab regulation time where both teams failed to raise the game to the expected standards, the match was pushed into the extra-time of two five-minute halves for the silver goal.
A speedy run into the circle by Pramod Kumar saw Hyderabad Sultans earn a short corner in the 73rd minute and drag-flick specialist Diwakar Ram sent a waist-high flick to the right of goalkeeper Baljit Singh.
However, with only a few seconds left on the clock, Dynamos drew level with a gem of a goal to extend the match. Dynamos earned a free-hit in the midfield and Sandeep Singh sent a powerful through ball into the circle. Deepak Thakur stretched his stick in front of the goalkeeper to deflect the ball into the goal.
Dynamos made three exciting moves in the second half of extra-time but failed to score. In the tie-breaker, both teams had five stroke-takers who got eight seconds each for a one-on-one battle with the goalkeeper.
In regulation time, Hyderabad Sultans wasted two short corners while Sandeep Singh’s flick flew over the bar from the only penalty corner that Dynamos forced.
In the shoot-out, Rajpal Singh, Deepak Thakur, Ravipal and Gaurav Tokhi succeeded for Dynamos while only Pramod Kumar and Didar Singh scored for Hyderabad Sultans. Prabjot Singh failed for Dynamos while Saradara Singh and Bikas Toppo flopped for Hyderabad. Pawal Lakra did not take the stroke as the result was already decided.