KARACHI, 21 February 2006 — Pakistan ended the Indian leg of the six-match field hockey Test series with a 3-0 lead, winning their third game in a row in Jalandhar yesterday.
Youngster Tariq Aziz and skipper Muhammad Saqlain scored the goals for Pakistan as the visitors continued their domination in the series with a 2-1 triumph at Jalandhar’s Burlton Park Stadium.
The result comes after two successive Pakistani wins in the opening two Tests held in Chandigarh last week.
The latest win has consolidated Pakistan’s position in the series and they now just have to win one of the remaining three games to be held in their own backyard later this week to seal the series in their favor.
While the Pakistanis continued to impress with a tight defense and an effective attack, the Indians remained a disjointed lot.
As in Chandigarh, the Indians did show sparks in bursts but overall the performance of the hosts was below par as the team continued to struggle in the absence of experienced players including skipper Dilip Tirkey who was ruled out of the series because of fitness problems. Tariq Aziz, the fast-improving striker who had scored a goal each in the last two games, found the net yet again in the 12th minute of the match to put Pakistan 1-0 up.
Spurred by a packed crowd, the Indians accelerated their attacks and finally managed to level scores through Tejbir Singh in the 27th minute.
But the Pakistanis were back in command when influential striker Saqlain made it 2-1 for them just four minutes from halftime.
A barren second half saw both sides trading countless attacks but they were unable to change the score-line.
Pakistani coach Asif Bajwa was elated over a 3-nil advantage.
“We were looking to take a lead in the opening leg of the series though I wasn’t expecting it would be 3-0,” said the former Olympian who was under fire in Pakistan after his team slumped to a poor fifth place in the Champions Trophy in Chennai last December.
Bajwa said that his team would now give a more improved show in the home leg of the series.
The two teams were scheduled to cross the Wagah Border today by road for the fourth match of the series to be played at the National Hockey Stadium in Lahore tomorrow. The remaining two matches would be held in Faisalabad (Feb. 24) and Rawalpindi (Feb. 26).
