A brace, including a last-minute winner from defender Len Aiyappa enabled the three-time champions India to claim full points from their opening fixture as they got the better of South Africa 2-1 at the Azlan Shah Cup hockey here today. The scoreline of the match which never rose to great heights, was blank at the end of the first session.The Indian midfield was found sorely wanting with only veteran Ignace Tirkey making a token impact after Inderjit Chadha used as a linkman by coach Rajinder Jr was injured in the early stages.Rookies Davinder Pal Singh and Jaswinder messed up some easy trappings and were constantly sidestepped and body dodged by their rivals, thus adding further pressure on skipper Dilip Tirkey.The Indian attackline comprising Sandeep Michael, Deepak Thakur, Arjun Halappa and Prabhjot Singh rarely moved in tandem, making heavy weather of a few chances that came their way in the striking circle.At times it appeared if there was a game plan at all, as the tendency appeared to be over dribble and holding on to the ball for long time and invariably losing the ball to the South Africans.In the tournament opener, Pakistan struggled to overcomenew zealand 2-1 with all the goals coming in the first half. In the last match of the day, Olympic champions defeated hosts Malaysia 3-1. Tomorrow Australia will clash with South Korea while South Africa play Malaysia. (pti)
