LAHORE, Nov 4: Kashmirian quartet combined well to beat Master Paints 8 1/2-5 to clinch the Inaugural Cup Polo Tournament at the Lahore Polo Club (LPC) ground Sunday.
The Kashmirian side enjoyed a half-a-goal advantage on the handicap.
For the winners, Lt Col Talha Saeed scored three goals, Rashid Ali Baig and Adnan Lone struck twice while Zain Khakwani scored one.
For the unlucky Master Paints team, Ahmad Nawaz Tiwana scored three goals, including a hat trick, while Sufi Mohammad Haris put in one goal.
The final was played at a fast pace. Talha opened the scoring for the Kashmirian team in the first chukker by converting a 40 yards penalty-hit. But before the conclusion, Ahmad Nawaz Tiwana scored a field goal for Master Paints to draw level.
Tiwani then scored the first goal of the second chukker through a 60-yard penalty-hit but Talha converted a 30 yards penalty-hit to once again level the scores.
The winners, however, pumped in two quick goals when Rashid Ali Baig scored a field goal with an angular shot on a 30 yards penalty-hit and Adnan Lone scored a field goal by taking advantage of the spade work done by Zain Khakwani.
Ahmad scored his and Master Paints’ third goal on crowning a field effort before end of the second chukker to reduce the margin 4-3.
At the start of the third chukker, Rashid Ali Baig scored his second and Kashmirian team’s fifth goal on a field effort. Talha scored his third and Kashmirians’ sixth goal, converting a 40 yards penalty-hit.
Zain Khakwani scored his field goal with a long hit and that was Kashmirians’ seventh goal.
Master Paints scored two back-to-back goals to reduce the margin to 7 1/2-5. Sufi Mohammad Haris scored on a 60 yards penalty-hit and Ahmad scored his fourth and Master Paints’ fifth goal, converting a 40 yards penalty-hit.
Before the conclusion of the match, Adnan Lone scored his second goal for Kashmirian team on a 60 yards penalty-hit to make the score 8 1/2-5.
Teams:
Kashmirian: Zain Khakwani (-2), Rashid Ali Baig (0), Adnan Lone (0), Lt Col Talha Saeed (0).
Master Paints: Taimur Malik (-2), Ahmad Nawaz Tiwana (0), Sufi Mohammad Haris (1), Shafa Noon (0).
Umpires: Captain Azhar Ali and Shah Shamyl Alam.
Earlier, Travel Quest beat Gladiators in the subsidiary final by 7-4 1/2 to finish third.
Ashfaq alone score four goals while Shehzad Aziz put in three goals.
For the losing Gladiators, who enjoyed a half-a-goal advantage on handicap, Faaiz Rahim Khan and Kamran Nooruddin scored two goals each.
Teams:
Travel Quest: Shehzad aziz (0), Haider Ali Baig (0), Ashfaq (2), Ali Riaz (-2).