Maratha Warriors defeated Bangalore Hi-Fliers 4-3 to finish third in Tier I of the Premier Hockey League at the Gachibowli hockey stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday.
Kashif Javad (15th minute) Dhanraj Pillay (32nd), Ali Raza (52nd) and Girish Pimpale (62nd) scored for the Marathas while Len Aiyappa (43rd and 67th) and Amar Aiyamma (51st) found the mark for the Hi-fliers.
Maratha Warriors aggregated 13 points from eight matches while Hi-Fliers finished fourth with nine points.
Chennai Veerans, with five points, finished last.
Hyderabad Sultans (16 points) and Sher-e-Jalandhar (14) will battle it out for the title in the concluding match of the league on Sunday.
Kashif Javad scored from the top of the circle to put the Marathas ahead and the first quarter ended 1-0.
Dhanraj Pillai converted a penalty-corner in the second quarter to increase the lead.
It was in the latter part of the game that the Arjun Halappa-led Hi-Fliers came to their own with Len Aiyappa converting a penalty-corner and Aiyamma drawing parity.
However, Razi Ali did not make any mistake and converted from a penalty-corner before Pimpale made it 4-2 for the Warriors.
With just three minutes for the hooter Aiyappa converted another penalty- corner to reduce the margin 4-3.
The match could have ended in a draw had Halappa scored from a penalty-stroke. But his flick was well-saved by goalkeeper Baljit Singh.
