The second day of the Yes Bank Indian Masters was ready for some intense Polo battles at the Jaipur Polo Ground, Delhi. Rajnigandha Achievers battled against Sona Polo in the first match of the second day of the tournament. Rajnigandha Achievers played with Pranav Kapur (+2), Gaurav Sahgal (+3), Salim Azmi (+3) and Matthew Philip Perry (+6). Sona Polo stood strong on the other side with Kartikeya Singh (0), Sawai Padmanabh Singh (+3), Abhimanyu Pathak (+5) and Gerardo Mazzini (+6). Rajnigandha Achievers played in white and Sona Polo played in black. The umpires of the match were Julio Bensadon and Lt Col Vishal Chauhan.
The match started with a brilliant strike by Gerardo Mazzini in the opening minutes of the game. He scored a brilliant goal from an angle shot. The score was 1-0 after Gerardo's goal. Sona Polo got a 60’ penalty but Gerardo wasn't able to convert into a goal. Matthew Perry ran with the ball to form a brilliant play but couldn't convert it into a goal for Rajnigandha Achievers. Pranav Kapur's horse tripped in front of the goal and Pranav fell off the horse. He kept the Polo spirit alive, swapped his horse and returned to the field. Sawai Padmanabh Singh made a brilliant run in the final minutes of the first chukker and passed a fabulous through ball but the pass was stopped midway by Gaurav Sahgal. The score at the end of the first chukker was 1-0
Rajnigandha Achievers were awarded a 60’ penalty in the first minute of the second chukker. Matthew Perry wasn't able to convert the penalty into a goal. Gerardo Mazzini scored a brilliant goal for Sona Polo and the score was 2-0 after his goal. Gerardo Mazzini was in a great form today and he scored another goal for Sona Polo from the 60-yard penalty spot. He struck a powerful shot to help Sona Polo extend their lead. The score was 3-0 after the goal. The second chukker was goalless for Rajnigandha Achievers. The score at the end of the second chukker was 3-0.
The third chukker started and both the teams were ready for a tough fight. Abhimanyu Pathak passed a brilliant through ball to Sawai Padmanabh Singh. Sawai Padmanabh Singh ran with the ball and struck a finesse shot and scored the goal. Sona Polo were now leading by 4-0. Rajnigandha Achievers were awarded a 30’ penalty and Gaurav Sahgal converted the penalty into a goal. It was Rajnigandha Achievers’ first goal. The score was 4-1 in favor of Sona Polo. Salim Azmi took the ball from the left, got past all the defenders in a nick of time and passed a brilliant through ball to Gaurav Sahgal. It was a brilliant play by Rajnigandha Achievers but Gaurav Sahgal couldn't convert it into a goal. Gerardo Mazzini attempted a long shot towards the goal. The shot was quite powerful but wasn't directed towards the goal. The third chukker was about to end. The scoreboard showed 4-1 in favor of Sona Polo and the extra 30 seconds of the chukker were in play. Gaurav Sahgal ran with the ball from the half, got past the Sona Polo defence and scored a mind-blowing goal to end the chukker in style. The score was 4-2 after the third chukker with Sona Polo still in the lead.
Rajnigandha Achievers were getting back in the game in the fourth chukker of the match. Matthew Perry displays a brilliant set of skills to score a brilliant goal. He ran from one goal to the other, covering the whole field to score a brilliant athletic goal for Rajnigandha Achievers. The score was 4-3 now. Sona Polo are awarded a 30’ penalty and Gerardo Mazzini, without making any mistake, scores from the penalty. The fourth chukker ended after Gerardo's goal and Sona Polo were in the lead by 5-3 after the fourth chukker.
The excitement for the last/fifth chukker was doubled after Gaurav Sahgal scored a brilliant goal for Rajnigandha Achievers. Rajnigandha were able to get close to Sona Polo. The score was 5-4 when Gaurav Sahgal struck a sensational goal from the 60’ penalty mark. The scores were now levelled at 5-5. The match could turn either side now. The chukker was about to end and the match was progressing towards the Death chukker when Abhimanyu Pathak dribbled past Matthew Perry and Pranav Kapur from the right and made a brilliant run. He got past rest of the Rajnigandha's defence and struck a powerful shot from the angle towards the goal. He scored a brilliant goal to help Sona Polo win the match in the last minutes of the game. Sona Polo won the match by 6-5.
Match Progression: Sona Polo – Rajnigandha Achievers: (1-0)/(3-0)/(4-2)/(5-3)/(6-5)
