Top 5 talking points from the second week of Hockey India League

Continuing with it's action packed trajectory, the second week of the Hockey India League (HIL) gave fans a lot to cheer about. Along with goals, dribbles and tackles, there was plenty of on-field drama for fans to savour. Besides the game of hockey, temperatures were sky high with players being involved in scuffles which the fans enjoyed thoroughly.Let’s take a look at the five best moments from the second week.:

#5 Scuffles between players

Too many fights in the tournament?

The tempo of the all the games reached a feverish state in the second week as all the players got involved in a no holds barred contest.

The aggressive side of hockey was evident in almost every match as players exchanged blows both with hands and sticks. The matter resulted into a ugly affair and got Sardar and Gurjinder singh suspended for their foul conduct.

Nevertheless, the fans seemed to have enjoyed the ‘in-your-face’ attitude from the players.

#4 Sardar Singh and John Abraham watch from the stands

John Abraham came out in support of his team

A one match suspension due to violation of code of conduct turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Delhi Waverider’s Captain Sardar Singh.The break helped him to recover from a mild fever as well as gave him a chance to cheer for the team, alongwith the owner John Abraham.

It was a sight to watch for all the fans, when both the superstars celebrated their team’s every attempt at goal.

#3 U.P. Wizards took Lancers to the cleaners

U.P dominated the Lancers

In their third match, the hockey wizards of U.P. gave their home fans everything to cheer about with a dominating performance against the Kalinga Lancers. Roelant Oltman’s men ran havoc and pumped in five goals ,sending all the fans into raptures.

It was a complete performance from the U.P. outfit, not giving the opponents any chance of a fightback.

#2 The Stockmann vs Sreejesh battle

Stockmann vs Sreejesh

When Punjab met U.P. Wizards on their home-turf on wednesday, it was sure to be a cracker of a match. The final minutes of the game lived up to its expectations as U.P eked out, a close 2-1 victory to halt the Warriors’ winning run.Both the teams fought neck and neck and neither had an outright command over the game.

However, there was another battle that ensued, under the bar. Punjab’s Jaap Stockmann, currently the world’s best goalkeeper and Wizard’s Sreejesh, the worthy challenger to his throne were having their own tussle. They were clearly out to show, who could produce more saves than the other.Neither of them disappointed as they pulled off some wonderful saves.

#1 Simon Child\'s wonder goal

Simon Child scored the goal of the week

In the match against Mumbai, Kiwi Simon Child scored a jaw-dropping goal to sent the crowd into a tizzy. After taking the early lead, Delhi got another chance to score through a penalty corner.Rupinder Pal blasted the ball, only to be deflected by Child in the middle of the ball’s flight as he buried it into the net.

The effort was laudable as he braved the fierce stroke of Rupinder and intelligently flicked it into the net befooling everyone. The audacity of the the attempt could be compared to the one in cricket, when AB de villiers in a match against Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League scooped Dale Steyn for a six.