It will be between Weerden and Diwakarram

The crucial tie between the Dutch and India, slated for the day, will see two stalwarts in focus. India’s penalty corner executioner Diwakarram and his counterpart in the rival’s team Mink van der Weerden can change their team’s fortune today.

With four goals to his credit, all penalty corner ones, Mink van der Weerden , 20, ranks two in the scorers list along with other two. Above him is India’s Diwakarram, 20, who scored a goal more than him, again all through penalty corners. Either will be the match winner today if their caliber and form are any indication.

Diwakrram fell short of expectations against New Zealand the other day, but it is early to judge what way Weerden will go, as the Dutch team is yet to meet either India or New Zealand, two strong teams in their pool. But it is fair to assess he will be crucial for Dutch today to douse the fires of formidable foe in India.

Netherlands’s coach Paul van Ass, 48, would like to use his right-full back Weerden full time, as he is going good with defence as well. In fact, Weerder, Kamp van der Goof and the coach’s son Seve der Ass form the defence phalanx. Young Seve, 17, is the babe of the team, a fulcrum in their Under-18 team, is down with flu, perhaps not making it to the side today. Lest, the threesome form the formidable force which the likes of Mandeep Antil, Pramod Kumar and Jayakaran will find it hard to break.

In fact, unlike Indian coach, Paul has used the penalty corner fire power of Weerden sparingly. In the both matches that the Dutch played so far, he was used to get the initial goals after that it was left to the forwards to do the scoring. It is interesting to note Weerden scored a brace in each match, both in first half.

India did not exercise this caution with respect to Diwakarram. Coach Bansal did not buy this argument. He said when this aspect of over-exposing Diwakar against weak teams was brought to his knowledge. “Diwakar has been playing for long in the circuit, every team knows about his caliber!

One aspect of interest in the match will be whether Paul will play midfielder Billy Bakker, who got a yellow card in their second match. He said earlier that it is team’s international decision to rest the player for the next match if he gets yellow card.

Netherlands had two-day rest while India had one. Indian coach Bansal is of the firm view that his team is ‘one hundred percent fit’ and this should not be a cause for concern. The advantage the Dutch team seemed to have insofar as recovery time is concerned should be viewed in the light of coach’s assessment. Unfortunately for both the team, the match will be played local time 5.30 which is still hot and humid. Indian players in particular are virtually drenched in sweat in the previous matches played in the night. It is to be seen how they cope up with the heat conditions.

Netherlands weakness here is shaky defence and somewhat raw firepower. Mirco Pruijser and Boob de Voogd (he has already scored four goals) assume the main striking role while wingers Roderick Musters and Robert Kemperman overcrowd the striking area. As is the trait of the Dutch there is no dearth of strikers.

Netherlands defence is certainly shaky. Poland came close to scoring at least four goals though they could put only half that.

One aspect that might give the Dutch a measure of upperhand is their ability to control the pace. The same ability that undid India against New Zealand.

Indians run all the time, keep pressed the attacking buttons, which might sap their energy today, and might even lead to frustration if matching result does not reflect on the scoreboard. Need of the hour, therefore, is cool headed defence that can effectively cut down the Dutch’s pace by rotating passes, spliting the wings and wait for the proper openings.

However, back pass is always an Indian bugbear. A Pramod’s backpass in the upfront almost led to a Kiwis’ counterattack falling short of conceding a goal the other day!

So, the Indians have to be careful, cool inside the circle, control the pace, create and avail chances, be disciplined in case Dutch goes ahead and scores a lot; if it happsens, aggression won’t do for India as it has the danger of giving away a plethora of counterattacks which they cannot manage. Instead pace down and space out your moves. Go ahead, preserve our history against the Dutch — we haven’t lost to them in the last 15 years.