MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup 2025: Indian Army nears playoffs berth with 2-1 win over Maharashtra

Certainly, this is not the best Indian Army team that one has witnessed in the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup invitation hockey tournament.

Its forwards haven’t stepped up to a great extent. The defence has been its saving grace. To be fair, it has played well within its limitations.

Requiring a victory to stay alive in the competition, Army huffed and puffed for a 2-1 win over Maharashtra in a Pool A contest at the SDAT-Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here on Wednesday.

After a drab goalless first quarter, Maharashtra opened the account in the second through a penalty corner strike by Ganesh Patil.

Army equalised through a strong counter-attack from the left flank within a few minutes. A swipe by Mohd. Alishan from the backline saw Pradeep Singh Bisht who deftly deflected it home.

Maharashtra returned stronger in the third quarter with attacks that rattled the Army defence. First, Arjun Hargude’s strike from the top of the circle saw Army ‘keeper Senthamizh Arasu come up with a fine save. A few minutes later, a withering backhander by Taleb Shah missed the post by a whisker.

Seven minutes remaining for the hooter, Army scored the winner when Niraj Kumar Singh took little time in unleashing a reverse hit after receiving a pass from Rajant Singh.

Army will make it to the playoffs provided SAI-NCOE (Bhopal) loses or draws with defending champion and table topper Indian Railways on Thursday. In short, NCOE will enter the semifinals in place of Army if it defeats Railways. Meanwhile, host Hockey Unit of Tamil Nadu has been knocked out of the competition.

Later, in a Pool-B tie, Indian Navy impressed with a 4-1 victory over Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), thanks to a brace each by Selvaraj and Ajinkya Jadhav. Navy entered the last four with three straight wins and will take on IOC, the former champion, in its last group match to decide the group-topper.