Pakistan wins first hockey Test
with golden goal
A superb opportunistic 'golden' goal by skipper Atif Bashir powered Pakistan to a 4-3 win over India in the first match of the nine-Test hockey series in New Delhi today.
In a lacklustre 82-minute encounter, devoid of the usual excitement and thrills generated when the two teams clash, Pakistan capitalised on the chances that came their way to emerge winners.
The visitors led 2-1 at half time.
The match went into extra time as regulation time saw the arch-rivals tied 3-3.
The hockey federations of the two countries had earlier decided that all matches would be decided even if regulation time fails to produce a result.
Penalty corner expert Sohail Abbas scored two goals while Mohd Nadeem and Atif Bashir chipped in with one each for Pakistan. For India, Man of the Match Gagan Ajit Singh (2) and Sameer Dad (1) scored.
The first half was a big let-down, with both teams dishing out poor hockey. The Indians were mostly on the defensive.
Pakistan had a major share of the ball and forced seven penalty corners while India earned only two.
The Indians lacked co-ordination and their forwards failed to click. The hosts also allowed their rivals to dominate the midfield and the Pakistanis virtually dictated proceedings for most of the first session.
Indian centre half Mohd Riaz tried hard to set up some good openings while Rajesh Chauhan kept the left flank moving, but that was not enough to keep the Pakistanis at bay.
But the visitors also looked tentative. The usual flair and thrust was missing from their game.
The Pakistanis surged ahead in the tenth minute, when vice-captain Mohd Sarwar set up a good move but was foiled by goalkeeper Jagdish Ponnappa, resulting in the second penalty corner.
With a powerful scoop. Sohail Abbas sent the ball into the net, giving the defenders no chance.
Sarwar kept making incisive forays and created many good moves that rattled the Indian defence. The Pakistani vice-captain was instrumental in earning the first four penalty corners before half time.
After being under pressure for 22 minutes, the Indians made their first real counter move in the 24th minute when Chauhan ran down the left flank and sent a measured cross to centre forward Gagan Ajit Singh who charged up and deflected the ball home to draw level 1-1.
Despite the equaliser, the Indians failed to mount pressure on their rivals. In fact, the hosts failed to dominate the midfield and the forwards allowed the ball to be snatched away easily, in the process keeping the defence under pressure.
The Pakistanis struck again a minute before half time. This time also, Mohd Sarwar made an opening which led to the fourth penalty corner. Again, Sohail Abbas's scoop beat the goalkeeper and the defenders to make the score 2-1.
The Indian forwards were slow compared to their rivals. The midfield trio of left-in Chauhan, centre half Riaz, and right-in Dad could not combine well and looked short of ideas. Their solo efforts were also not effective and left large gaps in the midfield, allowing the Pakistanis to control the game.
L Prabhakaran and Daljit Singh Dhillon were completely off colour and never came into the game. The hosts thus practically played with nine players till the two were replaced.
Though Gagan Ajit Singh, playing in place of Dhanraj Pillay, scored two goals and was declared 'man of the match' he was too slow for a striker.
The visitors were on the offensive as the second half began and in the 36th minute forced their fifth penalty corner, but this time Sohail Abbas was wide off the target. Four minutes later the Pakistanis were awarded their sixth penalty corner, but again the Indian citadel survived.
The Indians tried to counter and in the 50th minute Chauhan set up Gagan Ajit Singh near the rival goalmouth, but Singh failed to connect.
The Pakistanis then made a lightning counter attack and caught the Indian defenders on the wrong foot. Striker Mohd Nadeem made a solo dash and with an angular shot beat Ponnappa to give his side a 3-1 lead.
That goal rattled the Indians who finally got their act together and a minute later forced their first penalty corner. Dilip Tirkey relayed the ball to Ramandeep Singh who sent it to Dad. The young Indian striker skilfully side-stepped a defender and shot home a superb goal to reduce the margin to 2-3.
That goal brought the Indian team alive and for the first time in the match, the Pakistanis came under pressure and were forced on the defensive.
Six minutes before the final whistle, Chauhan, in tandem with Riaz, set up a fine opening for Gagan Ajit Singh who darted past couple of defenders and flicked the ball into the net to draw level once again.
In the dying moments of regulation time, the Indians were all over the Pakistani citadel, but the visitors managed to defend their goal.
As both teams were tied 3-3 at the end of 70 minutes, the match went into extra time.
Both the teams earned a penalty corner each in the first session of extra time and squandered it.
The Pakistanis then forced their eighth penalty corner, but the indirect attempt misfired.
As the match looked to be heading for the tie-breaker, skipper Bashir produced the winner in the 12th minute when he caught the Indian defence napping and shot home, to the shock of the home crowd.
"Ours is a young side, the players will take time to settle down, but I am happy with the way my boys played," Pakistani coach Shehnaz Sheikh said later.
"We had the edge throughout the match, which was reflected by the fact that we earned eight penalty corners," he added.
Indian coach Vasudevan Bhaskaran said, "We had our chances," and added, "The boys played well."
Bhaskaran was confident the Indian team would give a much better display in the second Test scheduled to be played in Bhopal on Friday, February 5.
Gagan Ajit Singh received Rs25,000 as man of the match.
UNI
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