KARACHI, 23 February 2006 — India rallied yesterday at the National Hockey Stadium in Lahore to hold Pakistan to a 1-1 draw in the fourth Test but failed to stop their old rivals from taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the six-match series.
Striker Tejbir Singh struck off a classic reverse flick seven minutes from the final whistle to give India the equalizer and something to cheer about for the first time in the series that has been overwhelmingly dominated by Pakistan.
It was the first match on Pakistani soil after the Greenshirts had whitewashed their rivals in the three games of the Indian leg of the series last week.
With the fourth game ending in a draw and just two more to go, Pakistan now have a winning 3-0 advantage in the series that is seen by both teams as a warm-up event for next month’s Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
Playing in front of over 15,000 cheering fans at the biggest hockey stadium in the world, Pakistan made an electric start to the match, leaving the Indian defense in tatters in the opening quarter of the match. They were unlucky when Malaysian umpire Muhammad Rafiq disallowed a goal in the 10th minute when television replays showed that winger Shabbir Hussain had clearly deflected a rasping free hit from midfielder Dilawar Hussain into the net.
The Pakistanis forced three shorts corners in quick succession and finally managed to make it 1-0 when penalty corner specialist Muhammad Imran beat Indian goalie Bharat Kumar Chetri with a powerful flick off his third attempt in the 15th minute. The hosts continued to dominate the proceedings but were unable to consolidate their lead in the first session due to some solid defending by Indian skipper Ignace Tirkey, Harpal Singh and goalie Chetri, who was later named the man-of-the-match.
India forced a short corner early in the second session but were unable to stop the ball. Pakistan unleashed a series of explosive attacks in the next eight minutes but Shabbir and Rehan Butt missed several sitters. In the 63rd minute, against the run of play, an unmarked Tejbir got a perfect pass near the circle and produced a sizzling reverse flick to beat Pakistani goalie Salman Akbar, making it 1-1.
Even some relentless efforts from Pakistan were unable to get them the winner they were looking for as Chetri made a few superb saves in the twilight months of the match to give his side a respectable draw.
Pakistani coach Asif Bajwa later blamed his senior players for the result saying they were “too casual” in the match. “My key players like Shabbir Hussain, Rehan Butt and Shakeel Abbasi were too relaxed today. Had they play better we would have won this game by at least four goals,” added the former Olympian.
His Indian counterpart Rajinder Singh Jr., was pleased that India finally managed to end its losing streak against Pakistan. “It was a better show from my boys but I believe they can show further improvement in the coming matches,” he said.
Faisalabad will host the fifth Test tomorrow while the final game of the series would be played on Sunday in Rawalpindi.
