Indian facelift leaves Pakistan puzzled

Riding on a brace by drag-flicker Sandeep Singh (13th and 17th minutes) and a 33rd minute strike by Ignace Tirkey, the visitors took a 3-0 lead by half-time before Tushar Khandekar added to the tally in the 60th minute with an opportunistic goal.

Pakistan wasted four penalty corners before scoring from the fifth in the 69th minute through Sohail Abbas for their consolation goal. The series stands tantalisingly poised at 1-1 after today’s result. India seemed under a lot of pressure when the match started at the Gen Musa Stadium, hosting a major tie after a long time, but they got into a rhythm as the match progressed.

But more than India’s brilliance, it was the waywardness of the Pakistanis which led to their shock defeat.

India got themselves into a position of strength in the first half itself when Sandeep Singh scored two goals in a span of three minutes, both coming from penalty corners, before Ignace Tirkey hammered home for a 3-0 lead.

Sandeep, who had a tremendous outing in the Junior Asia Cup where he was the tournament’s top scorer, brought an end to a lean patch at the higest level with the twin strikes, outwitting Pakistani goalkeeper Salman Akbar on both the occasions.

The youngster from Haryana, expected to fill in the shoes of expert drag flicker Jugraj Singh, scored from the first two penalty corners the side got in the first 17 minutes. Akbar, who was expecting high flicks from Sandeep on both the occasions, was foxed when the Indian beat him with cleverly hit carpet shots, much to the delight of the visiting team.