Sluggish yet India prove costly for Pakistan

India clinched cliff-hanger of a contest against Pakistan 2-1 with savior of an athletic goal emanating from agile and alert SV Sunil in its last pool match here in Ipoh.

Penalty corners, expertise or lack of it, played a big role in the whole game though the end results came out of gem of a field effort from Sunil.

This is India’s third win in six matches; the nine points it accrued will well help them to play for bronze, which would depend on various other results, as all other six teams have to play a match in their pool on Saturday.

On the other hand, Pakistan has to come out with its best in its last match, and then hope for Malaysia lose out again so that it did not have to finish the last.

India took the lead through Sandeep Singh in the 31st minute – he otherwise too played a shade better than what he was in the tournament till then — and then veteran Sohail Abbas annulled it with the team’s fifth penalty corner ten minutes before the hooter.

Pakistan forwards kept the Indian defence on back foot throughout the second half after India trooped out of the field with a goal in their kitty at half time. A subdued Sardar Singh, ably assisted by Birendra Lakra and young Manpreet and Raghunath withered many Pakistan attacks, especially from Zubair Ahd, Rizwan Jr and ever-improving Haseem Khan.

Even as the match was meandering towards a dame draw, which would be a fitting result for the game, Birendra Lakra braved a Pakistan attempt at goal, and then wore down a couple of chasers before parting the ball to Sardar Singh in the left flank. The rest is history.

Even as the ball almost seemed slipped out of the circle, Sunil trapped a neat cross from Sardar, after set up by Gurbaj Singh, and drew otherwise alert goalie Imran Shah before diving and sending a perfect push that landed across the goal cage.

Just one minute and 27 seconds was left in the clock, and then India played out the remainder of the time to safeguard the narrow margin.

The match did not rise to the expected level, perhaps the heavy turf, owing to heavy downpour in the day held the pace in check.

The first half was played on even keel, though India got three penalty corners in that spell. Tushar Khandker summoned all his experience – he is playing his sixth Azlan Shah Cup here — helped India to get couple of penalty corners.

Both sides showed no acumen at penalty corners, even as Bharat Chetri and Imran Shah, the goalies, stood out in their work outs.

Birendra Lakra was the hero of the day, he got so officially too.