Karnataka make it to quarterfinals

Hosts secured a comfortable 4-1 win over Haryana in their final Cluster VIII match at the Sir M Visvesvaraya stadium.

Haryana took a shocking lead through Mandeep Singh in the 32nd minute. However, Vishal Kumar netted the equaliser after converting a penalty at the stroke of half-time to put Karnataka back into the match.

Karnataka then for the first time in the tie took the lead as Nagaraju S in the 65th put them 2-1 ahead before, Vinoth Kumar, two minutes later, gave hosts a two goal cushion.

Karnataka tightened their grip in the match when Lokesh M made it 4-1 in their favour in the 70th. After two days rest, quarterfinal league campaign will begin from Thursday with Karnataka taking on Punjab in the day’s second match.

Karnataka had received a walkover against Nagaland while they beat Gujarat in league ties.

Results: Cluster VIII: Karnataka: 4 (Vishal Kumar 45+ penalty, Nagaraju S 65th, Vinoth Kumar 67th, Lokesh M 70th) bt Harayana: 1 (Mandeep Singh 32nd).

Quarterfinal groupings: Group A: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Jharkhand. Group B: West Bengal, Orissa, Manipur, Mizoram.