Indians need to corner conversions and injury troubles

New Delhi, Feb 27: The Indian hockey thinktank will have a lot on its hands when it sits back to assess the recent Test series against Pa...

New Delhi, Feb 27: The Indian hockey thinktank will have a lot on its hands when it sits back to assess the recent Test series against Pakistan. The Indians returned home Thursday, and all the players could talk on their way back was about aching bones and battered bodies.

Injuries came into focus, as the two teams battled it out in two countries. While Pakistan managed to wrest the initiative in the first leg by taking a 3-1 lead, the Indians staged a late comeback to win two matches in the Pakistan leg, losing in sudden death at Rawalpindi.

India lost four players at home to injuries with experienced midfielders Ramandeep Singh and forwards Sameer Dad, L Prabhakaran and Daljit Singh Dhillon failing to make it to Pakistan. In Pakistan, Baljit Singh Saini missed a match due to swollen wrist, while Mohammed Riaz (hurting shin), Gagan Ajit Singh (ankle injury) and Anil Aldrin (back problem) carried on despite not being fully fit.

Moreover, coaches of both teams felt the series could have been planned outbetter. As Pakistan Hockey federation secretary Col Mudassar Asghar said, “We’ll try to reduce the number of matches, even if it means losing out on gate money.”

Injuries apart, the series loss had a lot to do with the Indians’ inability to come to terms with penalty corner conversions which stood in stark contrast to Pakistan, who gained in in this key area. India forced 55 penalty corners but converted only six, while Pakistan, riding on the brilliance of Sohail Abbas, converted 13 out of 31. The PHF had engaged a Dutch expert to work with Abbas last year and the Indian Hockey Federation would also need to address this problem soon.

India was banking on this series against Pakistan. The resting of six senior players after the Asian Games had put further pressure on the youngsters. In that perspective, the performance of the Indians has not been disappointing.

The forwardline without Dhanraj Pillay, Mukesh Kumar and Sabu Varkey wore an unsettled look till two games to go. There was more cohesionand co-ordination after that and man of the series’ Baljit Singh Dhillon was outstanding.

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As for Pakistan, Mohammed Irfan is the star in the making. The right-out gave Indian defence a difficult time in the Indian leg, but missed the last three matches due to injury. Captain Atif Bashir and Muhammed Sarwar were also impressive. However, Pakistan forwards need better support from midfielders. Another problem area for them would be the number of penalty corners they gave away to the Indians.