Second Consecutive Victory For Sona Polo

The grandstand was ruled by the exclamation of oohh's and aahh's when the finals of Yes Bank Indian Masters 2018 witnessed it finals at the Jaipur Polo Ground, New Delhi. The grandstand was packed, the horses tacked and players all geared up. Sona Polo and Rajnigandha Achievers were all set to get into the battle for the finals. The aspiration of witnessing Sona Polo as the ultimate winners of the tournament was building up among the audience as the team did not lose any of the match in the entire tournament.The team had stood up erect giving a great example of team effort with each player complimenting the move of the other on the ground. It starts with the warming up section beyond the field, that transfers the positivity as well as boosts the synergy of the entire team. Every team member adds on to the attempt of the other by covering the opponent and stretching their horses in time to get hold of the ball. One key point that has been seen missing in other teams, where either the entire team is solely depended on one star player for the performance, or the team lacks in performance due to an inner conflict. Also, at times there are teams who do not play as one system, in fact focus more on individual performance. This leads to a set back, for, the players and team composition could be great but the individual play and conflict leads to the downfall of the entire team. Sona Polo on the other hand, has a support not only within the team but also has a cheering from the other associated players who are beyond the field that undoubtedly makes a step closer to of victory. Probably, this has been a key for the team’s splendid performance and big victories. The game came into action at 3:00pm with:

SONA POLO	RAJNIGANDHA ACHIEVERS
Mr. Kartikeya Singh (0)	Mr. Pranav Kapur (+2)
Sawai Padmanabh Singh (+3)	Mr. Salim Azmi (+3)
Mr. Abhimanyu Pathak (+5)	Mr. Gaurav Sahgal (+3)
Mr. Gerardo Mazzini (+6)	Mr. Matthew Philip Perry (+6)

The game started off with the throw of the ball and soon Matthew Perry had the ball under his control where he took the ball tapping towards the goal post all by himself with his team and the opponent players following him. Matthew stroke the ball in a dashing hit but the ball turned back after hitting the goal post. A rare view for the audience where Matthew Perry missed a easy shot. The game got into action where Mazzini took hold of the ball and dodged it between the opponent team. Stretching his horse, Mazzini took the ball towards the goal post but was defended by Matthew Perry, he managed to strike the ball even then, but unfortunately missed it. With both the teams trying to score, the game got into action and just like the last attempt, Mazzini attempted a recap but missed the goal one more time. It was two consecutive times that Sona Polo attempted to achieve a score but they missed the chance. After the first chukker was half way through, the umpires signalled the players for the change of ponies, which is a new rule in Indian polo. The chukker started again but did not see any progression in the game. It wrapped at the LA POLO scoreboard still set at 0-0 for both the teams.

The second chukker started maintaining the similar taut condition of the match. The game got into action with Gaurav getting hold of the ball who after tapping it passed it to Matthew Perry, who managed to get the ball in his control. But as Matthew stretched towards the goal post he was soon attacked by Mazzini's bounce. Mazzini hooked Matthew's mallet after which he stroke a lofted backhander passing the ball to his teammates. Padmanabh took the ball but was counter attacked by Salim. In the entire hustle of the game to protect any score, Sona Polo was benefited with a 40 yard penalty shot. Mazzini taking the strike hit a flying shot that went past the goal post bringing the LA POLO scoreboard to life with 1-0. The chukker wrapped at this score and the ground got ready for the third chukker.