Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Jalandhar, March 21: There were several apprehensive faces when Dhanraj Pillay removed the captain8217;s band from his sleeve and handed it over to Mukesh Kumar as the team lined-up for the sixth India-Pakistan hockey Test.
But seventy minutes later, Pillay walked out gingerly from the bench and hugged his teammate amidst thunderous applause, at the Surjit Singh hockey Stadium here today.
The sight of an injured Pillay and Sameer Dad hit on the lip during practice session yesterday amplified the home side8217;s determination.Coach Vasudevan Baskaran admitted that India missed Pillay. He kept trying out different combinations that met with success. Gavin Ferreira and Mohd Riaz had good outings after short lay-offs.Riaz seemed to be getting in the groove as pivot while Ferreira revelled immediately after being switched to the left-flank from centre-forward.
India8217;s Rajesh Chauhan and goal-keeper AB Subbaiah stood out. Chauhan, improving with every match, bolstered the mid-field and defence. Two diving saves by Man of the Match Subbaiah in either half were crucial.
For Pakistan, goal-keeper Ahmed Alam once again stood like a rock in the face of the Indian barrage that intensified in the second half.
Pakistan stunned India even before they had settled down. Mohd Sarwar scored on a pass from captain Tahir Zaman. Kamran soon missed an opportunity to increase the lead when Shahbaz put him through and Indians made most of this gift to take control. Six penalty corners followed but the patchwork on the circle scotched hopes of an equaliser.
But a penalty corner it was that restored parity in the second session. Harbhajan stopped cleanly and Tirkey8217;s hit rebounded off a defender8217;s stick for Ferreira to smash into thegoal.
Police were forced to use lathicharges after the crowd of 20,000 turned up for the match in a stadium that officially holds only 15,000.The drawn match leaves India with a 3-2 lead with two matches to follow at Hyderabad and Chennai.
