News 2015

Uttar Pradesh Wizards to clash with Ranchi Rays in Hero Hockey India League

Lucknow, 02 February 2015: After hammering Kalinga Lancers 2-0 in their own den at Bhubaneswar, Uttar Pradesh Wizards are confident and prepared to be at odds with Ranchi Rays on their home ground tomorrow. It will be a battle between Uttar Pradesh Wizards-co owned by Suresh Raina and captained by Edward Ockenden, and MS Dhoni owned Ranchi Rays, led by Ashley Jackson, tomorrow at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium at Lucknow.

After playing four matches in the League till now, Uttar Pradesh Wizards have bagged two wins, lost one and one game concluded as a draw. They are now sitting on the second position in the points table with 13 points, next only to Jaypee Punjab Warriors who are currently on top of the table. Uttar Pradesh Wizards will be looking at continuing their winning form against Ranchi Rays and aim to grab another five points. The team will be depending on the strong defence line created with PR Sreejesh before the goal post and Raghunath as defender to ensure that Ranchi Rays find it difficult to go past them.

On the other side, Ashley Jackson led Ranchi Rays have a lone win to their name out of four matches played and this time the team will aspire to take this number forward.  Pocketing a win will also allow the Rays to climb up the points table creating further shuffling in the table. With Ashley’s superb performance he will look at continued support from teammates Barry Middleton, Birendra Lakra and the vivacious Manpreet Singh.

Both coaches are hopeful that Raghunath, Middleton and Ashley, who have three goals each to their individual tally, will add to the count and bring advantage to their respective teams.

Confident ahead of the next game, Harendra Singh, Head Coach of Ranchi Rays said, “It will be an exciting opportunity for us to gain on our points tally, away from home. We have had really hard training sessions. It is time to execute those learnings and cement our position in the tournament. Besides, Uttar Pradesh Wizards has always been a tough team. We hope we will have a thrilling game tomorrow.”

Talking on the upcoming match, Ashley Jackson, Captain of Ranchi Rays said, “We are very excited to play Uttar Pradesh Wizards tomorrow on their home turf and we are keen to bolster our position in the tournament. We have been practicing hard and it is time to put our learning into action.”

Aiming at a victory in the impending game, Coach of Uttar Pradesh Wizards Roelant Oltmans said, “We have been travelling a lot and were really tired. But now we have recovered and feel relaxed. We want to deliver the same performance that we did in our last home ground game and put up a splendiferous show. We also look forward to the same amount of support from the audience that we received in our previous home ground game.”

Remarking on the upcoming clash, Edward Ockenden, Captain, Uttar Pradesh Wizards said, “We want to improve on our weak points and continue our winning streak. We have had some good matches and we want to keep on progressing and winning throughout the tournament. We hope we will have a good game tomorrow and the same great support and cheer from the home crowd.”

Uttar Pradesh Wizards will play against Ranchi Rays on 03 February 2015 at 1500 HRS IST at Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, Lucknow.

The match will be telecast LIVE on Star Sports.