Dabang Mumbai will face the defending champions Ranchi Rays in their 3rd home game of the ongoing CIL Hockey India League. The Alphas are without a single win in 4 games they have played this edition, however, all the matches have been very closely contested. On the other hand, Ranchi Rays have been on a roll, winning 4 out of their 5 matches, only losing away to Jaypee Punjab Warriors in their 1st match of the campaign.
The Alphas lost their last home game 4-6 against Kalinga Lancers, with Quirijn Caspers scoring the winner with only 4 minutes left on the clock, before which the home team had got themselves on level terms in the final quarter. However, the defending champions came back from behind to win their last tie 5-4 against Jaypee Punjab Warriors and stretched their total points tally to 21.
Live Telecast
Date and Time: 3rd February, 2016 – 5:50 PM (IST)
Telecast: English – Star Sports 2, Star Sports HD2; Hindi – Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD3; Digital Platform – Hotstar
Venue: Mahindra Hockey Stadium, Mumbai
Squad
Dabang Mumbai
Goalkeepers: David Harte, Xavi Trenchs, Krishan B Pathak
Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Matthew Swann, Jeremy Hayward, Gurmail Singh, Andrew Philpott, Diwakar Ram
Midfielders: Nilakanta Sharma, Danish Mujtaba, Vikas Sharma, Tyron Pereira, Manpreet
Forwards: Florian Fuchs, Affan Yousuf, Johan Bjorkman, Gurjant Singh, Roshan Minz, Dylan Wotherspoon
Ranchi Rays
Goalkeepers: Akash Chikte, Tyler Lovell
Defenders: Birendra Lakra, Vikramjit Singh, Sandeep Singh, Fergus Kavanagh, Timothy Deavin
Midfielders: Manpreet Singh, Kothajit Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Sumit, Ashley Jackson, Barry Middleton, Flynn Ogilvie, Daniel Beale, Trent Mitton
Forwards: Sumit Kumar, Sarvanjit Singh, Mohd Amir Khan, Imran Khan
Key Players
Florian Fuchs
German international Florian Fuchs is the Alphas’ top scorer of the campaign with 6 goals (3 field goals) to his name. The 24-year-old forward will be hoping to score yet again, but more than that will be hoping for a first win of the tournament for Dabang Mumbai.
Gurjant Singh
The 21-year-old forward levelled the score in Dabang Mumbai’s last match against Delhi Waveriders. With a goal under his belt, he will be hoping to kick on and help the Alphas kickstart their campaign when Ranchi Rays come visiting.
Ashley Jackson
Englishman Ashley Jackson is the visitors’ top scorer in this campaign with 9 goals (4 field goals and 1 penalty corner) to his name. The charismatic midfielder has shown great compusure in midfield to control the game for Ranchi Rays in the first 5 matches.
Sandeep Singh
Former Indian captain, Sandeep Singh is an ace drag flicker. Apart from the penalty corners, the 29-year-old is also an able defender and will look to blunt out a lethal looking Dabang Mumbai attack.
Form Guide
Dabang Mumbai: L – L – L – L
Ranchi Rays: L – W – W – W – W
(Most recent on the right)
