LAHORE - Master Paints qualified for the main final of the Bank of Punjab (BoP) Polo Tournament 2017 while and Newage booked berth in the subsidiary final here at the Lahore Polo Club (LPC) ground on Friday.
Bilal Haye and Hamza Mawaz Khan were joint heroes of Master Paints as both displayed qualify polo through their mallot and ponies and guided their team to thumping 11½-3 victory over Newage. Bilal slammed in sterling six goals while Hamza contributed fantastic five goals from the winning side while Shah Shamyl Alam, Ahmed Ali Tiwana and Adnan Jalil Azam scored one goal apiece from the losing side.
Master Paints were off to flying start as they fired in fabulous five goals in the first chukker with Bilal Haye hammering a hat-trick and Hamza Mawaz Khan scoring a brace. In the second chukker, Hamza converted a 30-yard penalty successfully to complete his hat-trick and also stretched their lead to 6-0. Master Paints continued their sublime show in the third chukker as well by thwarting three more goals– two by Hamza and one by Bilal – and increased their lead to 9-0. Newage opened their account through Shah Shamyl Alam in the end of the third chukker to make it 9-1.
The earlier part of the fourth and last chukker was once again dominated by Master Paints as Bilal Haye banged in two more goals to complete his double hat-trick and also gave his team 11-1 edge. Newage then started playing aggressively and succeeded in converting two goals through Ahmed Ali Tiwana and Adnan Jalil Azam to reduce the margin to 11-3, but it was all that they could get from the match as when the final whistle was blown, Master Paints, who had also half goal handicap advantage, were enjoying unbeatable 11½-3 lead. Saqib Khan Khakwani and Raja Arslan Najeeb supervised the match as field umpires.
The second encounter of the day was contested between Guard Group and Black Horse Paints and the ultimate winners were Guard Group who defeated their opponents by 6½-5. Ahmed Nawaz Tiwana was top scorer from the winning side with his tremendous three goals while Taimur Ali Malik struck two and Ahmed Zubair Butt one goal. From the losing side, Hissam Ali Hyder scored three and Sufi M Amir hit two goals. Both the teams started match in great style as both fought very well and scored two goals each in the first chukker to make it 2-2. The second chukker was also evenly poised as one goal each was slammed in by both the teams to finish the chukker at 3-3. Black Horse Paints stamped their authority in the third chukker as they pumped in two tremendous goals through Sufi Amir and Hissam to take 5-3 lead but in the dying moments of the chukker, Taimur Ali Malik fired a field goal to reduce the margin to 5-4.
Guard Group made a strong comeback in the fourth and last chukker as they thwarted two marvelous goals through Ahmed Nawaz Tiwana and Taimur Ali Malik to take 6-5 lead, which remained intact till the end and declared them as winners. Ahmed Ali Tiwana and Atif Yar Tiwana officiated the match as field umpires.
Now Guard Group will clash against Zarai Taraqiati Bank for the main final slot today (Saturday) at 3:00 pm while Black Horse Paints have already qualified for the subsidiary final against Newage to be played on Sunday.