Hockey Champions Trophy 2014 Semifinal, Highlights: Pakistan Defeat India 4-3
Pakistan maintain their record of never losing to India in Champions Trophy Hockey by scraping to a 4-3 win.
In a brave battle between the two arch rivals, Pakistan edged forward in the final few minutes to set up a title clash against Germany. India will play Australia for the third spot. Following are the highlights from the match.
End of match and Pakistan maintain their record of never losing to India in Champions Trophy. Wild clebrations from the visiting team as jerseys go flying in the air. Indian will have to come out of it quick. The team played extremely well and will now face Australia for the bronze medal.
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59' India get a penalty corner. Final chance! Referee decides to consult his colleague and eventually says free hit outside the D.
58' Qadir slaps a goal and Pakistan take a lead with under two minutes left.
57' Pakistan regroup and decide to attack.
56' India on the break again and lightening speed from the men in blue.
56' India fail to convert. Shot was on target but Pakistan defense manages to keep the ball away.
56' India have the momentum and get a penalty corner.
52' Goal! Nikkin scores a field goal to make it 3-3!
51' Another chance to score against Pakistan comes to nothing.
51' Ramandeep makes a superb run but India fail in one-on-one battle.
50' Irfan scores! Pakistan in lead. Irfan makes no mistake and his team now leads 3-2.
50' Penalty corner for Pakistan.
49' India get another fine chance but the ball kisses the post on the wrong side.
46' Final quarter begins on a fantastic note for India as Sardar Singh goes for a back shot on goal but misses.
End of third quarter with the score level at 2-2.
42' Goal! Dharamvir erases Pakistan's lead with a sublime field goal.
40' Qadir's challenge on Manpreet earns him a yellow card. Pakistan down to nine men and this is the perfect chance for India to put men forward.
38' Indians forced to back pass repeatedly as Pakistani defense holds on desperately.
36' Pakistan's Tausiq shown the green card.
34' Indian forwards now go on repeated attacks. Pakistan D under constant bombardment.
33' Raghunath takes a wild shot at goal and the ball goes miles away the right corner of the goal. Pakistan custodian Butt had to just watch it go.
33' India hit back hard and get a penalty corner. Ball bounces high off a Pakistani stick and the PC has to be taken again.
32' Goal! Waqas scores to put Pakistan in the lead. The team began rushing before the referee asked for a review of sorts. A possible back stick is ruled out and the goal is confirmed.
31' India start proceedings in third quarter.
* Who will get your goals? India's High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans keeps his cards close to his chest. "Don't know, I am sorry," he says during the break.
* Too early yet but is the match heading for a shootout. That's what happened when the two teams last met - in the match for Asian Games gold. Sreejesh though earlier said his team will give it all to secure a win in regulation time. 5 minutes left for third quarter.
At half time, India and Pakistan level at 1-1.
28' Sunil and Nikkin make a 50-yard dash and the acceleration leaves Pakistan in shambles. Nothing comes off it though but a video referral asked for. A push is being complained against. Denied by TV referee! Yellow card though for Pakistan's Irfan as he was guilty of shove but it didn't obstruct passage of play.
26' Sunil working extremely hard on the right flank. He has to be the man in focus if another penalty corner has to come India's way before the half time hooter.
25' Indians looking desperately to invade Pakistan's D but have also opened themselves to breaks from their opponents. No change in the scoreline though.
21' India fail to score from their second penalty corner. Rupinder hit it like a rocket but goalkeeper Imran Butt blocks it well. India now look to rebuild.
21' Sunil gets a fantastic pass and gets a penalty corner for India.
19' The equaliser has mobilised Pakistan forward line to the front and they are looking for an encore.
16' Goal! Pakistan score the leveler early into second half. After surviving three attacks, Indian defense finally cracks as Qadir slams a field goal.
Pakistan fail to convert as first quarter ends 1-0 in India's favour.
14' India give away a penalty corner in the dying seconds of the quarter.
13' Ugly collision between Gurbaj and a Pakistani forward. The Indian falls on top of him and is shown the yellow card.
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11' GOAL! Gurjinder slams it in. India take lead 1-0 lead.
11' First penalty corner of the match goes to India!
11' Both teams bring in fresh legs.
8' Pakistan with yet another good attack on the Indian goal but Shafaqul Rasool's shot into the D goes astray. In the early minutes, both teams looking to attack but Pakistan have definitely come closer to a goal.
6' Pakistan get a superb chance to take a lead. In a one-on-one battle with goalkeeper Sreejesh, the ball hits chest guard and bounces out of play.
4' Indians look to attack from the right flank with Kothajit on the left for support. This is a good build up as hosts take stock of Pakistani defense without leaving much room for a counter.
3' Both teams play long passes to feed forward line. Nothing has manifested yet as precision has been missing.
1' Pakistan begin proceedings but India get control of the ball quickly. Unconfirmed reports say a kilometer-long line of fans outside the stadium, waiting to get in.
* India and Pakistan players come out for their national anthems.
Teams:
India XI: Sreejesh, Rupinder, Gurjinder, Manpreet, Sardar, Khandangbam, Gurbaj, Mujtaba, Sunil, Akashdeep and Ramandeep.
Pakistan XI: Butt, Rizwan, Waqas, Dilber, Rashid, Imran, Irfan, Shakeel, Bhutta, Abbas and Shan.
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* Did you know? Pakistan have hit 50 goals against India in Champions Trophy matches. Over the years, India have replied back with 41 against them. Overall, India have 307 goals against Pakistan while the men in green have 370 from all encounters against India.
* The frenzy at Kalinga stadium reaches fever pitch as Indian and Pakistani players come out to warm up ahead of the 2nd semifinal. The Indians immediately go into a huddle and appear to be finalising their strategies. The decibel levels are such that they may be struggling to hear each other even inside their huddle.
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* Australia fight hard but Germany register a 3-2 win to storm into the final of Champions Trophy hockey. The team will face either India or Pakistan for the title.
* Germany lead Australia 2-0 at half time. Winner of the match will play wither India or Pakistan for the title.
* In the first semi of the day, Germany come out to play Australia.
Tickets sold out: The Kalinga stadium has seen packed house each time the Indian side has stepped out. The tickets to Saturday's semifinal were sold at lightening speed and media reports said many were seen outside the venue, hunting for any leftover tickets to see players in action. (Full report)
Quotable quotes: Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh is on a high. After the quarterfinal match against Belgium, he said the Indians are ready for Pakistan challenge. "The way we are playing, we won't take the match to penalties. We expect a tough fight and we will be ready for Pakistan," he had said.
If history is a parameter to predict the outcome of the match, stacks may not be placed in favour of India.
* India have never been in Champions Trophy final. Their previous best was third in 1982.
* Pakistan have been in eight Champions Trophy finals. In the tournament, Pakistan also lead the head-to-head count against India (11-6).
* Pakistan have won Champions Trophy thrice.
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Since the 1950s, India and Pakistan have fought a total of 160 hockey wars. While Pakistan have won 78 of these, the Indians are currently on roll. (Expect fireworks when India face Pakistan)
Memories of their Asian Games triumph would be fresh when India beat Pakistan 4-2 ton win gold and book a place in the Rio Olympics. (Match report)
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Backed by a thunderous crowd, Indian players have come out all guns blazing in all of their matches. Placed in a tough Pool B, they lost their opener against Germany due to a goal in the dying minutes. Against Argentina, the team took the lead twice before going down 4-2. In their defeats, one thing was clear - this side was not ready to stop attacking. And it paid them rich dividends eventually. (India vs Pakistan match preview)
India's biggest moment in the tournament was stunning second-ranked Netherlands. It was a match of relentless moves, played at a lightening speed. Previous generations of players have been accused of lacking stamina but this team showed that the match is not over till the final hooter. The same was true in the quarterfinal as well when the side fought back to defeat fourth-ranked Belgium.
Now, they face a team which may be ranked 11th but Pakistan is a side capable of upping their game when it matters the most. (India on the cusp of history)
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Pakistan's Pool A performance was a horrid tale of humiliating defeats. The team lost their opener to Belgium 2-1 and then crashed 8-2 to England. Defending champions Australia then added to the woes by scripting a 3-0 win. Pakistan finished the table at the bottom but new rules allowing all teams to advance to the quarterfinal helped them set-up a clash against Netherlands.
The Dutch may have topped Pool B but Pakistan came out of nowhere to shove them out of the tournament. That 4-2 win would be propelling the Pakistan team which has seen turbulent days in the recent past.
Indian stars to watch out for:
PR Sreejesh: The wall of the Indian defense, Sreejesh's goal-keeping abilities are fast becoming legendary in international hockey. Cracking his defense would be an uphill task even for a Pakistani side that is relatively good at converting penalty corners.
Rupinder Singh: He scored against the Dutch. He scored against Belgium and he does not seem to be done just yet. A hard-working player, he can be lethal with the counter-attacks and during penalty corners.
Pakistan stars to watch out for:
Muhammad Imran: He has scored twice for Pakistan and is a thinking player. On his day, he can lead the forward line with skill and confidence.
Muhammad Waqas: A tireless warrior on the right-flank, he can move the ball forward with lightning speed.