Delhi beat Mumbai to top HIL table

Delhi Waveriders survived a strong challenge to defeat Dabang Mumbai 4-3 in a Hockey India League (HIL) match at the Mahindra Hockey Stadium here on Saturday.

Rupinder Pal Singh (8th, 39 minutes) struck twice from penalty corners for Delhi while young forward Talwinder Singh (56th) scored a field goal, which is counted as two goals in this edition of the HIL.

For Mumbai, Florian Fuchs (12th) scored a field goal while Harmanpreet Singh (54th) converted a penalty stroke late in the game.

This was the third consecutive loss for Mumbai. They are yet to register a win in the tournament. Delhi, who are now on 16 points, are sharing the top spot with Ranchi Rays.

The hosts started on an attacking note but conceeded an early goal when Rupinder converted a penalty corner to give the visitors the lead.

Mumbai immediately raised their game and struck a field goal through Fuchs, which gave them a 2-1 lead. The second quarter saw a lot of penetrations from Delhi Waveriders into the Dabang Mumbai circle, but the hosts gave a spectacular defensive display to prevent their opponents from scoring.

Mumbai started the second half started with a flurry of attacks, but the visitors played cleverly and were rewarded with a penalty corner in the 39th minute and Rupinder found the equalkiser with ease.

Despite the setback, Mumbai continued to attack and regained the lead when Harmanpreet Singh scored from the penalty spot. But the visitors snatched victory two minutes later through an excellent field goal from Talwinder.