New Zealand veteran Kane Russell scored his third hat-trick in four matches as HIL GC defeated Tamil Nadu Dragons 4-2 to consolidate their position at the top of the eight-team Hockey India League while handing the Dragons their first outright defeat of the season. Russell scored in the 14th, 33rd and 47th minutes for HIL GC — a team administered by the league’s governing council after the initial owners withdrew — while Sam Ward scored in the 23rd minute. For TN Dragons, Blake Govers (32’) and Uttam Singh (56’) were on target during the clash at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astro Turf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi on Monday. In another match on Monday, Tomas Domene’s brace guided SG Pipers to their first-ever win in the HIL across two editions as they prevailed 2-1 over Hyderabad Toofans, for whom Amandeep Lakra got on the scoresheet. The star of the match was goalkeeper Tomas Santiago who stopped a penalty stroke late in the match. The day’s highlight was, however, Russell’s hat-trick. It was the Dragons, in …