Formidable Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) rallied to edge past Border Security Force, Jallandhar, 2-1 and sail into the semi-finals of the 108th All India Beighton Cup hockey tournament in Kolkata on Saturday.
In other quarter-final matches, defending champions Punjab Police finished 3-3 with Army XI, while CRPF blanked Air India 3-0 and Indian Oil drubbed Bombay XI 5-2.
In a group A outing, the paramilitary team went ahead in the 31st minute through a Devinder Singh field strike to lead 1-0 at the breather.
However, the bankmen changed the complexion of the game in the second-half by striking twice within a space of three minutes at the Mohun Bagan ground.
After Ajit Pal Singh restored parity in the 45th minute, Baljit Singh Chandi scored the winner three minutes later with another field goal to take PSB's points tally to six from two matches.
In another match of the same group, last year's losing finalists CRPF rode on three first half strikes to put it across Air India at the East Bengal ground.
After T Kujur drew first blood in the 20th minute, S K Vashist made the scoreline 2-0 three minutes later through a penalty-corner. Sudhir Bara struck the final nail in the Air India coffin through another field strike in the 33rd minute.
Both CRPF and BSF are on three points from two matches, and would play against each other to decide the second semi-finalist from the group. Air India, who lost both their matches, are out of the tournament.
In Group B, Indian Oil, having a number of India internationals in their ranks, left behind their defeat against Army XI to garner full points.
Prabhjot Singh scored three field goals, while Kamlesh Kumar pitched in with another and Deepak Thakur converted a penalty-corner in the second-half.
Defending champions Punjab Police, on the other hand, were stretched to the full by the armymen on the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club ground, with all the goals coming from penalty-corners.
Both Punjab Police and Army XI now have four points from two matches. Indian Oil are on three points, with Bombay XI yet to open their account.
