Murugappa Gold Cup: Last-gasp goal keeps IOCL in semifinal race

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) snatched a dramatic 2-2 draw against Hockey Karnataka in a Pool-A match of the 97th All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament at the SDAT Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here on Tuesday, scoring off a last-gasp penalty corner to keep its semifinal hopes alive.

Karnataka, which needed a win in its final league match to stay in contention, was left to rue the late equaliser as it bowed out of the tournament. Talvinder Singh opened the scoring for IOCL in the ninth minute, converting a rebound after Gurjinder Singh’s drag-flick from a penalty corner was blocked by the goalkeeper.

Karnataka fought back through B. Abharan Sudev, who finished a superb move in the 28th minute, before C.J. Rahul put it ahead in the 32nd. IOCL struggled to make its penalty corners count and missed a one-on-one chance through Affan Yousuf in the 55th minute.

It failed to convert a penalty corner at the very end. After a review, another penalty corner was awarded, and Roshan Minz found the net to earn his team a crucial point. The result: Pool-A: IOCL 2 (Talvinder Singh 9-pc, Roshan Minz 60+-pc) drew with Hockey Karnataka 2 (B.

Abharan Sudev 28, C.J. Rahul 32).