Three-time Olympian and skipper Dilip Tirkey struck three fabulous penalty-corner goals to fashion Orissa Steelers' comprehensive 4-1 victory over Maratha Warriors and make sure of a berth in the three-match final of the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Friday night.
Orissa, who began on a cautious note, played a subdued game in the first quarter. But they took control of the midfield and stepped up gears in the second and virtually sealed the fate of the match with three goals in the space of nine minutes.
The first goal came in the 19th minute from Orissa's first penalty-corner and Tirkey's power-packed undercut beat the goalkeeper.
The was in the 27th minute from the second short corner. This time too Tirkey beat goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza and the ball rose off Viren Rasquinha's stick on the goalline to settle in the net.
Tirkey scored again from the third of their six penalty-corners in the 38th minute in similar fashion, the ball deflecting into the net.
In-between, Orissa's Argentine player Mario Alamada struck a field goal in the 25th minute.
Warriors reduced the margin with three minutes to go for the hooter from their last short corner when Kuldeep's direct hit rose off rival goalie Salman Akbar's pads and settled in the net.
