Kalinga Lancers won Hockey India League

Moritz Fuerste led from the front as Kalinga Lancers ended Dabang Mumbai dreams of lifting the coveted trophy in their first ever final appearance. Fuerste scored twice while Glenn Turner stuck once in the 18^th minute to help Lancers win their first ever Hockey India League title.

Table toppers Dabang Mumbai who have shown great consistency through the league were kept in the hunt right from the word go with Kalinga Lancers showcasing some class act to defend their circle. Though the first quarter ended in a stalemate, the Kalinga Lancers made quick progress in the second quarter when Aussie forward Glenn Turner, after a brilliant assist by skipper Moritz Fuerste, ensured a 2-0 lead in the 18th minute.

Earlier in the day, the Uttar Pradesh Wizards beat Delhi Waveriders 5-4 in a closely-fought encounter to take home the third-place award of Rs 75.00 Lakhs. Though Delhi Waveriders took an early lead in the 15th minute with Justin Reid-Ross scoring a field goal, Shamsher Singh (18’) equalized for Uttar Pradesh Wizards. But the real turn around for Roelant Oltmans’ men came in the final quarter when Agustin Mazzilli scored an incredible field goal to give the Uttar Pradesh Wizards the winning edge.

Gonzalo Peillat’s 38th minute goal had reduced the deficit for Uttar Pradesh Wizards to 3-4 after Delhi Waveriders skipper Rupinder Pal Singh had struck twice (24’ and 36’) to convert PCs. Moritz Fuerste of Kalinga Lancers was declared the Man of the Match and was awarded a prize money of Rs 50,000 by Mr. Mahavir Mukherjee, CGM, Coal India Limited.

IPL Auction Player list 2017

England all-rounder Ben Stokes has become the most expensive overseas player ever bought at an IPL auction, going for 14.5 crore to Rising Pune Supergiants. He is also the second highest paid player among those currently active in the IPL, behind Virat Kohli, who is paid Rs 15 crore by Royal Challengers Bangalore per season.

England fast bowler Tymal Mills also set a new record price for a specialist bowler: he was the second most expensive sale at the tenth player auction and bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for INR 12 crore. All-rounder Chris Woakes was the third England player to get a hefty payday; he was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 4.2 crore. Three other England players bought - all at base price - were: batsman Eoin Morgan for INR 2 crore to Kings XI Punjab, batsman Jason Roy for INR 1 crore to Gujarat Lions, and all-rounder Chris Jordan for INR 50 lakhs to Sunrisers Hyderabad.

While demand for England players was expected, Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, 18-year-old leg-spinner Rashid Khan, and UAE batsman Chirag Suri became the first Associate players after Netherlands' Ryan ten Doeschate to get an IPL bid. The Afghanistan players were bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad - Rashid for INR 4 crore and Nabi for INR 30 lakh - while Suri went to Gujarat for INR 10 lakh. Delhi Daredevils were the most active team in the early bidding. Their purchases of Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews for INR 2 crore, New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson for INR 1 crore, South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada for INR 5 crore and Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins for INR 4.5 crore.

Kolkata Knight Riders, on the other hand, did not bid for any of the first 22 players up for sale despite having a squad of only 13 available players before the auction. They were successful in the first player they bid for, buying New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult for INR 5 crore. Of the first 108 players that went on sale in the main draw of the auction, only 33 were bought and among them only two from Australia: Mitchell Johnson to Mumbai Indians at his base price of INR 2 crore, and Cummins to Delhi. More Australians - Nathan Coulter-Nile, Billy Stanlake, Dan Christian and Ben Laughlin - were bought in the second round of bidding after lunch. Coulter-Nile was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for INR 3.5 crore while Stanlake, Christian and Laughlin went at base prices.

The trend among Indians was for the more experienced players to get no bids - Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan, Pragyan Ojha, Cheteshwar Pujara, Parvez Rasool and RP Singh were unsold - while several uncapped players were picked up at high prices. Fast bowler Mohammad Siraj was bought by Sunrisers for INR 2.6 crore, left-arm seamer Aniket Choudhary by RCB for INR 2 crore, K Gowtham by Mumbai for INR 2 crore, T Natarajan by Kings XI for INR 3 crore, Basil Thampi by Gujarat for INR 85 lakh, Karn Sharma by Mumbai for INR 3.2 crore, Eklavya Dwivedi by Sunrisers for INR 75 lakh, Varun Aaron by Kings XI for INR 2.8 crore and M Ashwin by Delhi for INR 1 crore. India all-rounder Pawan Negi, who was bought for INR 8.5 crore last year and then released by Delhi, was bought by RCB for INR 1 crore.