Hockey India League 2024/25 Points Table: Updated HIL standings on January 7

Kalinga Lancers, who were languishing at the bottom of the Hockey India League (HIL) points table, produced an outstanding performance to blank table-toppers Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers 6-0 on Tuesday (January 7).

The Lancers came out all guns blazing to score thrice in the first six minutes before adding a fourth goal at the stroke of halftime thus pulverising the Tigers' defense in a remarkable Hockey India League clash in Rourkela.

The defending champions piled on the misery for Colin Batch's side who had come into the game on the back of three successive wins with two goals in the final quarter to seal the deal in style.

An unmarked Thierry Brinkman had all the time in the world to score the opening goal for the Kalinga Lancers from close range in the third minute even before the Tigers had time to settle in.

Brinkman was in the thick of things manufacturing a penalty corner immediately after. A deflection off Alexander Hendrickx's drag flick was fired into the net by Sanjay even as the Lancers raced away to a 2-0 lead.

A third penalty corner came the way of the Odisha side in the sixth minute, with Alexander Hendrickx sending in a scorcher of a drag flick that gave Jamie Carr no chance whatsoever.

Gursahibjit Singh and Bobby Singh Dhami combined to very clearly score a fourth for the Lancers in the ninth minute but the ball missed the mark by a whisker.

Jamie Carr did well to stop Hendrickx's effort from the top of the circle in the 11th minute after the Lancers had earned a third penalty corner.

The Tigers earned their first penalty corner in the 16th minute, with Krishan Pathak pulling off two back-to-back saves off Jugraj Singh's drag-flick and Rupinder Singh's rebound effort.

Dilpreet Singh found the outside of the post with his tomahawk in the 21st minute as the Lancers sought to regain the momentum after the Tigers had managed to apply a period of sustained pressure at the other end.

Antoine Kina sent in a powerful cross from the edge of the circle that found its way into the back of the net off Nicholas Bandurak's outstretched stick in the 29th minute. The Lancers thus went into the long breather with a commanding four-goal lead in their fourth Hockey India League game.

Krishan Pathak, who had an outstanding game, kept Jugraj Singh's drag flick out of harm's way after the Bengal Tigers won a penalty corner midway through the third quarter.

Dilpreet Singh missed a sitter with an open goal to aim at after failing to latch on to an angled cross in the 42nd minute.

Thierry Brinkman displayed his class as a forward even as he sent a thundering shot into the Tigers goal in the 47th minute before Boby Singh Dhami brought the crowd to their feet with an equally good strike a couple of minutes later.

Owing to the huge win, the Kalinga Lancers have now moved up to the fifth position on the Hockey India League points table.

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Hockey India League: Updated Points Table Men's League Phase (Tuesday, January 7)

	PLAYED	WON	LOST	S/O WIN	S/O LOSS	GF	GA	GD	POINTS
Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers	4	3	1	0	0	9	10	-1	9
Soorma Hockey Club	4	1	1	2	0	7	9	-2	7
UP Rudras	3	2	1	0	0	6	3	+3	6
Tamil Nadu Dragons	3	1	0	1	1	5	3	+2	6
Kalinga Lancers	4	1	2	0	1	12	9	+3	4
Team Gonasika	3	1	1	0	1	5	5	+1	4
Delhi SG Pipers	4	0	1	1	2	7	10	-3	2
Hyderabad Toofans	3	0	2	1	0	5	8	-3	2

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Hockey India League 2024/25: Men's League Fixtures (Wednesday, January 8)

Team Gonasika vs Tamil Nadu Dragons, 6 pm IST (Birsa Munda International Hockey)

UP Rudras vs Hyderabad Toofans, 8:15 pm IST (Birsa Munda International Hockey)