India in must-win situation

KARACHI, FEB 17: Vasudevan Baskaran managed a wry smile as he caught some officials waving at the Indian team bus at the Qaid-e-Azam Airp...

KARACHI, FEB 17: Vasudevan Baskaran managed a wry smile as he caught some officials waving at the Indian team bus at the Qaid-e-Azam Airport here today. He then quickly looked away, mumbled something to his boys and then lapsed into silence. The warm welcome here had failed to enthuse the coach and weary team. The Lahore defeat seemed to be preying on their minds, as they looked out of the bus windows. And then quiet lot, and the convoy escorted by some 100 policemen sped through the streets of this commercial capital of Pakistan.

The 2-4 defeat at their favourite hunting ground, has left the Indians in a desperate situation — win all four matches from here or the series is gone. In fact it is now important for them to win every successive match to keep the series alive — and remember there are no draws, as the two federations have agreed to play extra time and Golden Goal to ensure a result in each game. There are a lot of loose ends to be tied up and strategy reworked. With time running out, anxiety iswrit large on Indian faces.

Later in the day when the teams went out for practice, Baskaran said that his team had lost a match in Lahore, which they should have won comfortably. “We missed so many penalty corners. It was awful. Then, we missed sitters. Our striker Gagan Ajit had a very poor match,” said the coach.

Story continues below this ad

“Not that I’m complaining. This is a young team, and they will learn from their mistakes," he hastened to add.

In sharp contrast to the competitive mood in the Indian camp, the Pakistanis — who are leading 4-1 in the series — presented a confident picture.

After a successful Indian leg, the breaking of the “Lahore Barrier” has given them that extra fillip. “We kept losing to the Indians at Lahore. That this young team has come out of that mental block is good news for us,” said the Pakistani coach, Shahnaz Sheikh.

Shaikh said that after the defeat at Chennai, they had reworked their strategy and that paid dividends at Lahore. “The Indians were always attacking. That gave usscope for counter attacks. Our boys made most of the chances,” Sheikh said.

Story continues below this ad

Of course Pakistan made good use of the chances, converting two out of five penalty corners. The Indians were apparently clueless about Suhail Abbas’ flicks. Abbas, who scored five goals in India, has turned out to be the biggest difference between the two sides, as India lacks the speed of Dhanraj Pillay.

Besides, what is surprising is that Indians did not go for direct tries in penalty corners in Lahore. Neither Dilip Tirkey nor Baljit Singh Dhillon were given the chance to go for first hits. Indirect sequences have the surprise element, but are more liable to misfire given the number of players involved in the sequence. India will have to take care not only of penalty corner conversion, but also of penalty corner defence as they get ready for a do-or-die encounter here tomorrow.

The Indians had a memorable outing here last year when they tied the series 2-2 after a close win. Pillay was unstoppable on that occasion. Ofcourse with Pillay out of the series, the visitors will need solid team work to stop the rolling Pakistan bandwagon and keep the interest of the spectators alive in this series.