India’s last chance to redeem some glory

Prabhjot Singh

Match against B pool leader England tomorrow is the last hope for the hosts India to redeem some lost glory. After serving two match suspension, Shivendra Singh will be back in the 16 while England has some injury problems with one of their ace players, Richard Mantell, being ruled out because of an injury.

While India has performed below expectations in last two of three matches they have played so far, England has impressed all with its superb display, including its sensational win over the Aussies, runners-up of last two editions of World Cup. England has not only one of the best goalkeepers on view here but also solid defence, some intelligent and aggressive forwards and an intelligent half-line that can unruffled any opponent on a given day.

India, on the other hand, has been inconsistent, with both forward line and deep defence cracking quickly under pressure. Keeping aside the India-Pakistan match, the Asian challenge in the World Cup here appears to be petering out. Last hope, South Korea, too, suffered a shock 1-2 defeat at hands of New Zealand earlier in the day today thus affecting their chances of making it to the medal round.

At the end of the day six, this tournament will be half way through with 18 of the 38 matches completed. So far if England has been the pick of the tournament so far, the Netherlands and Australia are not far behind with Germany also closing in the gap.

Besides India and Pakistan, Canada, Argentina and South Africa, too, have been big disappointments. Canada did put up a plucky fight against the Kiwis on the opening day to lose narrowly 2-3; they virtually surrendered after holding the powerful Dutch, the Netherlands, to a goalless first half. But in the second half, it rained goals and Canada did not know which way to go.

South Africa suffered a shattering 0-12 defeat at hands of Australia after a promising start to their pool B match yesterday. It can be safely inferred after completion of 18 matches that gap between the top four or five teams with the next six to seven teams has gone slightly wider. Fitness and speed could be the factors.

While England has both, the speed and the fitness, the hosts India, unfortunately are nowhere near them in both. Only a spirited game and a repeat of the opening day performance can raise some hope before a Saturday night packed audience at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium. England has still to play Spain and India’s last game billed for Monday is against bottom-placed South Africa.