These are the semi-finalists of the Hockey India League 2016
These are the semi-finalists of the Hockey India League
The semi-finals of the 2016 Coal India Hockey India League have been finally decided. After 10 games played during the regular season, is now time for the final-4 which includes Ranchi Rays, Jaypee Punjab Warriors, Delhi Waveriders and Kalinga Lancers. Let’s take a look at what we can expect out of these two matches.
1) Jaypee Punjab Warriors Vs Delhi Waveriders (February 20th, 3:00 PM (Indian Local Time) / 11:30 PM (CET)
Jaypee Punjab Warriors, team that finished in the 4th place in 2013 and second in 2014, reached this stage after finishing the 2nd place at the end of the regular phase. With only 26 goals against, the Punjab Warriors are the team with the strongest defence. The team coached by the legendary Barry Dancer has the international stars Chris Ciriello, Mark Knowles, Matt Gohdes, Sardar Singh, Simon Orchard and Tristan Clemons, as the main players.
Delhi Waveriders, the team captained by Simon Child, finished in the 3rd position. This squad which has international stars as Simon Child, Rupinder Pal Singh, Mandeep Singh and Jusin Reid-Ross, has already won the 2014 edition after they defeated the Punjab Warriors by 3 to 1.
2) Ranchi Rays vs Kalinga Lancers (February 20th, 5:30 PM (Indian Local time) / 2:00 PM (CET)
This second semi-final game brings in the top seeded team, the Ranchi Rays, which finished the regular season with 7 victories over 10 games. This franchise is the 2015 after they defeated the Punjab Warriors on shoot-outs. Barry Middleon, Ashley Jackson, Fergus Kavanah are some of the main players of this team which looks like the favourite to win the 2016 India Hockey League edition.
The Kalinga Lancers is the team that entered at the last moment, after finishing in the 4th place. The Lancers have been the team that scored most goals in the regular season (39) but they will be facing one of the strongest defence of the league. Glenn Turner and Moritz Fuerste will have a big challenge when they face the Ranchi Rays.
Final regular season standings of the India League 2016:
