India fight back to hold South Africa, win series 3-1

Biswajyoti Brahma, TNN

NEW DELHI: In the end, a few angry words from the coach did the trick. India bounced back from a ‘lost’ situation to hold South Africa to a 3-3 draw in the fifth and final hockey Test at the Major Dhyanchand National Stadium on Sunday.

The Indians put up an ordinary display early on in the inconsequential match, having come to the tie leading the series 3-1. At the breather, they were down 0-3. But thing changed dramatically afterwards.

“I was a little angry. I told the players to pull up their socks and do more in the field. I could understand that they were a little complacent having already won the series,” coach Michael Nobbs said after the match.

The terse words coupled with some tactical changes not only helped India score thrice in the second half, but also denied the visitors any addition to their tally.

A goal attempt by SV Sunil after a fine run on the right flank was stopped by the rival goalkeeper but Sardar Singh grabbed the free ball and passed on to Yuvraj Walmiki who slammed home in the 43rd minute for India’s first goal.

VR Raghunath scored through India’s fourth penalty corner six minutes later to further reduce the lead before Sarvanjit Singh set it up for SK Uthappa in the 66th minute to complete the tally.

Earlier, South Africa dominated the first half with goals from Ricky West (26th minute), Ian Haley (31st) and Miguel de Grasa (34th). Nobbs said that he was happy to see his players’ abilities to salvage the situation from critical positions. “Coming back from that position is a terrific result, a real positive. In the last four-five months, whenever we have trailed, we have often made strong comebacks,” he said.

On Sunday, India fielded comeback men Rupinder Pal Singh and Danish Mujtaba, who returned to the side after brief injury layoffs. Both played for a fair amount of time though they looked a bit rusty. Having done a lot of experimentation with the team in the five-match series, Nobbs suggested that his boys would continue playing attacking hockey when they square up during the upcoming Olympic qualifiers.