India seek better cohesion upfront

BHOPAL, Feb 4: Coach Vasudevan Baskaran looked a satisfied man when he walked out of the bench after his team's loss to Pakistan in Delhi...

BHOPAL, Feb 4: Coach Vasudevan Baskaran looked a satisfied man when he walked out of the bench after his team’s loss to Pakistan in Delhi yesterday. He had good reasons too, as the young Indian side showed remarkable tenacity to level scores twice in the opening match of the nine-match Pepsi Hockey Cup series. However, he would agree that the team gave a patchy display and there is need for more cohesion upfront, if Pakistan are to be reigned in.

The second match of the series beginning here tomorrow will not only be a test of nerves with Pakistan having already seized the initiative, but it will also be another small step in the rebuilding process for both the teams. In their first outing, Indians, in their bid for ball possession, left several gaps in the midfield. The much-vaunted midfielders had a poor outing as Mohd Riaz struggled in the pivotal position and Ramandeep Singh failed to check the Pakistani charge from the right. Riaz found his rhythm only after he moved up to inside-left in the secondhalf.

The presence of Riaz is essential upfront to keep the attack going. Right winger Prabhakaran struggled to send accurate crosses in the first session, and even Sameer Dad had trouble combining with the former. It will be a big occasion for Dad tomorrow, as he gets to display his skills in front of his home fans.

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The heartening factor for the hosts is the ability of Gagan Ajit Singh to be in the right place at the right time. That the yougster managed to shake off his markers twice bears ample testimony to his growing confidence and talent.

While Indian defenders — Dilip Tirkey in particular — gave an assured performance, it must be pointed out that two Pakistan goals were the result of lapse in concentration. The Pak debutant, outside-right Md Irfan has the speed to trouble the best, and will have to marked tightly. Even inside-left Nadeem showed tremendous skills and he cut through Indian half frequently. However, the biggest apprehension from the Indian point of view will be the drag flicks ofSuhail Abbas.

In the Calum Giles mould, Abbas was reduced to the bench in the initial months of his international career. However, the change in rules which have banned rolling substitution during penalty corners, forced the Karachi youngster to improve upon his field play, and the amazing transformation is bad news for teams the world over. Abbas scored five times in Bangkok Asian Games, and already has two under his belt in this series. While Indian goal-keeper Jagdish Ponnappa managed to foil Abbas once, he was left rooted on the other occasions.

Pakistan have shown better off-the-ball running and anticipation but seemed rattled whenever India managed to enter the circle. The Indians will need to breach the Pakistan defence and force more penalty corners if they hope to make a fight of it.

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Meanwhile, steady drizzle since yesterday afternoon has come as a dampener here though ticket sales have been brisk. The city has a tradition of hockey with many pre-partition players coming from this city. Theturf at the Aishbag Stadium was laid in 1994 and is still in good shape, and the officials assured that rain would not hamper proceedings.