By Our Hockey Correspondent

CHENNAI, AUG. 16. Absorbing and adept, the hockey on view projected quite a few pulsating moments with a hat-trick by Sunil Barla for Railways forming the highlight in the Madras Cricket Club- Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here this afternoon.

While Indian Railways and Tamil Nadu ensured a place in the quarterfinals, consequent to Hyderabad losing both its matches in Pool D, Punjab Police and Karnataka were locked in a battle of wits before Baljit Bhuller picked up the equaliser that almost synchronised with the hooter in a Pool B encounter. Punjab Police held the lead, surrendered it, and finally had to fight for the equaliser to share points.

Subdued for the major part and even trailing by a goal, Karnakata recovered splendidly in the second half to write a glowing script. Forthright and full of vigour, Punjab Police, expectedly, was thrustful, prompted well in the mid-field by Prabhdeep Singh and supported well on the left by Olympian Ramandeep Singh. But the Karnataka defence, led admirably by mid- fielder Shanmugam, gave nothing away.

The five penalty corners that Punjab Police forced proved futile in the face of some good goal-keeping by Arun Babu, who brought off a handful of smart saves. A goal-line save by Shanmugam in this period should also be recorded from a shot by Balwant Singh in a penalty corner that ended in a scrimmage.

Infrequent though initially, the Karnataka attack carried enough punch and harmony thanks to the combined work of Anup Antony and Mandana, who injected an element of vigour when the match moved into the second half.

Actually, Punjab Police surged ahead midway through from a penalty corner hit by Baljit Bhuller. But Karnataka retaliated with a goal by Laxman Rao, followed by a spectacular backhander by Vinay Kumar. Egged on by the goodly crowd, which envisaged the fall of a mighty combination, the Karnataka frontline was relentless in its workouts, though success was not easy to encounter.

The emphasis shifted more on holding on to the lead than to enlarge the score, but Punjab Police was desperate to get the equaliser. There were some tense moments forcing the umpires to caution the players.

Casting aside the lethargy that was so manifest in the first half, Indian Railways, profiting from a hat-trick by Subil Barla, outplayed Hyderabad to ensure a place in the last eight from Pool D. Tamil Nadu, which also beat Hyderabad on the opening day, will be the other team from this pool.

Actually, Hyderabad should have taken the breather with a 1-0 lead but muffed a stroke. A fluent run in by Anant Ratnakumar was stick checked by goal-keeper Alex David prompting umpire Venu Uthappa to point to the spot. Paul Moses flicked the ball away from the target.

Even after the break, Hyderabad had its moments, but poor finish, especially by winger Osman Bin Abdula, put the team on the back pedal. When Barla struck from a scrimmage midway through, the moment triggered a goal riot, as it were. Barla had the distinction of scoring the first goal here from within the 25- yard line - a yard or two from above the striking circle. Before Barla sewed up a hat-trick, Anant Ratnakumar made good use of a stroke, awarded this time by umpire Dominic, when Satish Kumar handled the ball from a shot by Elia. Barla enlarged the lead making full use of a defensive lapse. Iqbal Singh, Jagmohan and Natarajan struck once each to give Railways an impressive tally.

Deepak Thakur will lead the IHF Juniors (under-21) in the competition. The team consists of Devesh Chauhan, Bharat Chetri, Jugraj Singh, Ignace Tirkey, Bikramjit Singh, Bimal Lakra, Arun Rawat, Jagath Jothi, Bipin Thimmiah, Prabhjot Singh, Arjun Halappa, Karthick, Diwakar, Tejbir Singh, Saravan Kumar, Shasuz Zoha, and Dung Dung. Coach: C.R. Kumar; Doctor: Dr. Deivasigamani; Manager: Mr. Appiah.

Friday's matches: Bengal v IHF Juniors (2-30 p.m.); Indian Airlines v Bharat Petroleum (4-30 p.m.).

Subil Barla (left) of Indian Railways is congratulated by Iqbal Singh on completing his hat-trick in the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament in Chennai on Thursday. The dejected onlooker is Hyderabad's Kuldip Xalxo.

Jagmohan Singh (right) scores Railways' fifth goal beating Hyderabad goalkeeper N.P. Ramesh in the MCC- Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament in Chennai on Thursday.