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Star striker Deepak Thakur regained his form and usually unstoppable Prabhjot Singh helped home side Sher-e-Punjab build a comfortable lead, but were forced to settle for a 3-3 draw with the hitherto undefeated Pune Strykers in the Bridgestone World Series Hockey at the Olympian Surjit Hockey stadium in Jalandhar on Sunday.
The first match of Day Five was a great encounter.
Third quarter entirely belonged to Pune.
Gurpreet converted first of the five penalty-corners Pune earned in the third quarter. His knee-high drag flick hit a defender's stick and found the net (1-2).
Gurpreet's first goal in Jalandhar, and overall seventh, spurred Pune to an onslaught.
Even as the match seemed in the pocket of Shers, Bikas Toppo infused life into the game.
Emerging young stars Gurjinder Singh and Sukhwinder Singh played a stellar role in steering Chandigarh Comets to a famous 5-2 victory over Mumbai Marines in Mumbai.
The energy and enthusiasm of the young outfit was such that despite missing sitters all along they had enough on the board to outclass and outperform the much-acclaimed home side.
The visitors stuck a goal apiece in each quarter, and a brace in the last, to hand out a humiliating defeat to the Marines on their home ground.
But for excellent work under the bar by goalkeeper-captain Adrian D'Souza, the score could have well been in double digits for the visiting side.
Gurjinder Singh (24th and 46th min), Sukwinder Singh (17 & 70th min) and Ranjodh Singh (53rd min) scored for the winners while it was Troy Sutherland (3rd min) and Joga Singh (7th min) who did the same for the losing side.