NBP 5 PIA 3

(third place play-off)

KARACHI, Feb 6: Sohail Abbas poached a dazzling hat trick to help Wapda become the new champions after a thrilling 3-2 triumph over Habib Bank (HBL) in the 50th national hockey championship on Thursday.

Fearsome penalty corner striker was the bankers’ nemesis as he struck twice with his trademark drag flicks early in the first half and then in the 34th minute to bag the hat trick, the second he scored in the tournament.

Sohail, the top-scorer of the championship with 20 goals, also drove away the brand new Suzuki Mehran car sponsored by Dawlance after being named the player of the tournament at UBL Sports Complex.

Wapda captain Shabbir Hussain received the beautiful crystal trophy from Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali along with cheque of Rs75,000, while HBL skipper Haider Hussain got the runners-up trophy and Rs25,000 from United Bank.

Mohammad Nadeem, the captain of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) received Rs15,000, after his side pushed holders PIA to fourth place with a 5-3 victory in third place playoff early in the morning.

Wapda side became richer when they got a surprise package of Rs100,000 announced by their department, while Sohail got a cash prize of Rs30,000. Sohail and NBP’s Adnan Zakir also received Akhtar Hussain award.

The game watched by some 5,000 fans commenced with Wapda pushing forward, producing flowing moves, pinning HBL down in their own half for long periods.

Wapda’s Shahid Rabbani deflected in the 5th minute struck the woodwork from close range. Muddasir Ali Khan also came near scoring for Wapda in the 12th minute but was denied by HBL goalkeeper Ejaz Khokhar.

A minute later, out-of-position Ejaz came rushing from his line to thwart a raid by Shabbir but a fine clearance by Amir Zafar averted danger.

Sohail, who netted thrice off five short corners, stamped his authority on the match right from the start as he blasted goal number one in the 18th minute with a bullet-like push which gave Ejaz and dashers no chance.

Two minutes later the penalty corner specialist piled on agony for his former collegues as his push ricocheted off defender Amir in the 20th minute for his second goal.

After going 2-0 down, the bankers managed to pull one back as Rizwan Khan, the player of the match, deflected a Haider cross to give his side a lifeline.

Kashif Jawwad, a Pakistan striker, showed brilliance but all he could do was to claim a penalty corner which was wasted. HBL got the third short corner but Amir’s hit crossed the back-line.

Sohail finally showed the bankers why he was so lethal in converting penalty corner conversions when he slotted his third with a blistering push right in the middle of the cage just second before the halftime whistle.

HBL recovered from a nervous start after lemons as Qavi Khan popped up at the end of a superb flowing counter-attack by Kashif to fire home the second off a rebound from Wapda goalkeeper Mohammad Qasim to make it 3-2.

Barely two minutes later, Wapda had to rest their ace striker Rehan Butt who limped off the field after his thigh injury he received during the semifinal against PIA, aggravated.

Rehan’s departure, however, did not dampen Wapda’s spirit as Shahid tested Ejaz who padded the powerful effort to safety. Sohail threatened with another push in the 59th minute but Ejaz made a stupendous save.

The bankers, in a last-ditch effort, invaded Wapda half, got their fifth penalty corner, but failed to convert as Asad Qureshi’s strike went wide.

Wapda still trying to stretch the lead, mounted pressure with Zakirullah’s dying-moment effort which went wide.

Wapda:

Mohammad Qasim, Ghulam Murtaza, Rana Asif, Shahid Rabbani, Mudassir Ali Khan, Rehan Butt, Waseem Ahmad, Shabbir Hussain, Naveed Iqbal, Sohail Abbas, Yamin Bhatti, Ashraf Malik, Mudassir Jr, Amanullah, Najeeb Aslam, Zakirullah.

HBL:

Ejaz Khokhar, Ejaz Rasool, Haider Hussain, Kashif Jawwad, Mohammad Khalid, Junaid Hussain, Iftikhar Alam, Jawaid Mazhar, Mubashir Mukhtar, Asad Qureshi, Amir Zafar, Sameer Hussain, Qavi Khan, Rizwan Khan, Imran Khan, Shahid Maqbool.