Hume's hat-trick powers Blasters

A hat-trick by Iain Hume spurred Kerala Blasters to a 3-1 victory over Delhi Dynamos in the Indian Super League at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Wednesday.

The win took Blasters to the sixth spot (from eighth) with 11 points while Dynamos remain at the bottom of the table with four points.

The two teams have shared the common agony of poor strike rate this season. However, Blasters, watched on the sidelines by co-owner and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, were quick to open the scoring when Hume scored in the 12th minute. And though Delhi pulled one back in the first half, they couldn't stop the Canadian striker (78th, 83rd) from running amok in the second.

Hume opened his account when Courage Pekuson ran down the left wing with purpose, beat the Delhi defence, and stormed into the 16-yard-box. He crossed the ball for Hume who had dashed from the middle and in a flash Blasters had nosed ahead.

Delhi, led by young Lallianzuala Chhangte, mustered their attack for an equaliser, but it was only in the 44th they got to level the scores. It came through a set-piece. Romeo Fernandez's free-kick was well connected by Pritam Kotal's head and the captain with a deft touch brought the Delhi back into the contest.

However, the hosts faced a setback when their goalkeeper Xabier Iruetaguena was left writhing in pain following a collision with Blasters' Mark Sifneos during the extra time. Xabier eventually had to be stretchered out and was substituted by Arnab Dash Sharma.

Delhi stepped up their attack in the second half, but were guilty of squandering chances. Hume then broke the deadlock when he took control of the ball and made a speedy burst towards the Delhi box. He beat two Delhi defenders as he cut through them and released a scorching right-footer straight into the goal. It brought even Tendulkar to his feet.

The Canadian then added to the Dynamos misery when he beat Rowilson Rodrigues with sheer pace and flicked it over Arnab. It was a Hume show on Wednesday night that put curtains on a forgettable outing for Delhi.