In a fast-paced encounter, Haryana exhibited speed and skill in abundance to outsmart Air-India, who assembled in a hurry for the big event. The institutional side clearly lacked co-ordination.

Haryana started in right earnest with forwards Kiran Bala, Surinder Kaur and Meenakshi making a series of raids into the rival 25-yard area. Air-India were forced to back-pedal right from the word `go', but they jealously guarded the citadel with Francisca and Anita playing their hearts out.

Haryana's sustained attack bore fruit in the 11th minute. They successfully converted their first short corner through a direct hit by Surinder Kaur, who redeemed herself for the earlier lapse and went on to score two more goals for awell-deserved hat-trick.

Stung by the reverse, Air-India increased the pace of the game and desperately tried for an equaliser. They, too, made a series of raids but the attacks faded before they entered the circle. They either lost possession or indulged in misdirected hits.

The forward-line appeared to be weak, and to add to their woes, the flow of passes from the centre-half was poor. Credit should also go to the Haryana defenders Suman Rani and international Suman Bala, who thwarted the rival forays with ease and grace.

Haryana had to wait till the 48th minute to increase the lead. This time, Surinder Kaur pushed home a rebound after Kiran Bala's stinging shot from top of the striking circle was blocked by Air-India custodian Sybil. Haryana should have made it 3-0 but for a missed penalty stroke by Sarika, who hit the left post.

Air-India did not give up and fought gamely. They made it 2-1 to remain at a striking distance with 15 minutes to go. A free-hit by Ashwini found Bhupinder Kaur in thecircle and her zooming shot evoked no response from Haryana goalkeeper Suman.

Now, Air-India attacked with renewed zeal but failed to beat the strong Haryana defence, who appeared to hold on to the slender lead for a crucial victory that will move them closer to a quarter-final berth. But Surinder had different thoughts. Two minutes from time, she entered the striking circle from the right, after receiving a pass from Kiran Bala, and drew the goalkeeper out before shooting from a narrow angle to complete the hat-trick.

The very next minute, Simarjeet effected a brilliant first-timer to seal the fate of Air India for a 4-1 victory.

Easy for Bombay:

Earlier, Bombay made mincemeat of Bundelkhand trouncing them 9-0 while Orissa drubbed Gujarat 6-0. Andhra Prdesh, who came in place of Combined Universities, as a last-minute replacement, played well but lacked the experience to deal with a side like PEPSU. The newly-formed Andhra Pradesh lost 0-7.

In another match, which had virtually no bearing onthe Pool topper, Maharashtra defeated Mahakoshal through a controversial 11th minute strike from Tracy.

Results

Maharashtra 1 (Tracy 1) bt Mahakoshal 0

Pool D

Haryana 4 (Surinder Kaur 3, Simarjeet Kaur 1) bt Air-India 1 (Bhupinder Kaur 1). Pepsu 7 (Charanjeet Kaur 3; Savita, Mandeep Kaur, Harjinder Kaur, Kiran Bala 1 each) bt Andhra Pradesh 0.

Pool F

Bombay 9 (Pakpi Devi 3, Jyoti Dodrai 2; Poonam Surin, Paulina Surin, Susani Surin, Manorama Goswami 1 each) bt Bundelkhand 0

POOL G

Orissa 6 (Sarita 2; Ashrita 2; Annarita, Mukta 1 each) bt Gujarat 0