Hockey India League: Waveriders looking to continue winning streak

Lucknow: League leaders Delhi Waveriders would be keen to set the record straight at Dhyan Chand Astroturf Stadium here when they take on hosts Uttar Pradesh Wizards in their 10th round-robin match of the Hero Hockey India League here on Sunday.

The visitors, who had not lost a single match in the tournament so far, were held to a 1-1 draw at this very venue and would definitely want to stamp their authority on the hosts, who has struggled to make an impact in the tournament there after. Since that tie, the fortunes of both the teams have taken opposite paths. The Waveriders have gone from strength to strength winning seven of their nine encounters and completing the clean sweep against the Mumbai Magicians. On the other hand, the Wizards have lost their last four encounters and need to raise their game in the remaining matches to avoid the wooden spoon. And facing the best team in the tournament would be the last thing the hosts would have been looking forward to. The Waveriders are on a roll and the Ajay Kumar Bansal coached side underlined the gap between them and the remainder of the field when they trounced second place Ranchi Rhinos 5-2 in the away fixture to open up a 10-point lead at the top. Twelve different players have got their name on the score sheet and that only underlines the depth in their squad. On the other hand, the Wizards are completely dependent on captain V R Raghunath and Jeroen Hertzberger for the goals and if the other players fail to contribute then they may find it difficult to go far in the tournament. Delhi Waveriders captain Sardar Singh and coach AK Bansal are making their strategies for every match after seeing the conditions. "Our plan is to make strategies against each team for every match, and this thinking is showing good results till now. We will do the same for all the upcoming matches," said Sardar Singh. PTI