LAHORE, 2 October 2004 — Pakistan held resurgent India to an enthralling 4-4 draw and finish the home leg of the eight-match GT Challenge Test Series with a 2-1 advantage thanks to a timely equalizer from winger Rehan Butt at the National Hockey Stadium yesterday.
Butt put the ball in on a short corner rebound just when Pakistan, trailing 3-4 in the 67th minute against this young yet dangerous visiting side, were desperately seeking a leveler.
But more than Butt, Pakistan should once again thank their short corner marksman Sohail Abbas for helping them pull off a tie in the fourth Test that India led 4-2 till the 57th minute through two superb second half goals from Arjun Halappa and Ignace Tirkey.
Sohail, who scored a last-minute winner to give Pakistan a 3-2 victory in the third Test at Peshawar earlier this week, scored two goals to bring himself within striking distance of becoming the highest ever goal scorer in the history of the sport.
In fact, the 28-year-old defender from Karachi could have brought himself to just one goal short of Dutch legend Paul Litjens’ record of 267 goals off Pakistan’s fourth short corner just three minutes from the hooter but his powerful flick was blocked by Adrian D’Souza. However, Pakistan did equalize on that move as Butt scored off the rebound.
“My boys did well to recover from 2-4 down,” Pakistan’s Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans said adding that he was expecting his team to produce a better result in the match.
India’s German coach Gerhard Rach had no such complaints. “Our team is playing against a stronger opponent and I am sure it will only improve with time,” commented Rach after the match.
Pakistan, who won 2-1 at Karachi, lost 1-4 at Quetta and triumphed 3-2 at Peshawar, were given a 1-0 advantage yesterday by Sohail Abbas who converted a 14th minute short corner by deceiving Indian goalie Adrian D’Souza with a low push.
India equalized in a more spectacular manner just two minutes later when midfielder Viren Rasquinha dodged two defenders and took a shot at the goal but goalkeeper Salman Akber blocked it only to see Vikram Pillay scoring off a rebound. The first half ended 1-1.
India began the second session with an early goal through young short corner striker Sandeep Singh who produced an exact replica of Sohail’s Abbas’ goal-scoring flick in the first half to take his side 2-1 ahead.
Just a minute later Pakistan earned their second short corner and Sohail was once again right on target with a flick that went high into the left corner of the net.
The short corner battle continued with India earning their fourth in the 45th minute but Sandeep was stopped well by Pakistani goalie Salman Akber.
India took control of the proceedings penetrating the Pakistan defense from both the flanks and finally got the lead again in the 50th minute when Arjun Halappa’s angular shot from the right edge of the circle went in the goal like a bullet.
The young Indian attack, hungry for more goals, made it 4-2 just two minutes later when Ignace Tirkey sounded the board from the top of the ‘D’ on a calculated back pass from Halappa.
The goal came as a wake up call for the Pakistanis as they went on an all out attack and managed to reduce the deficit to 3-4 through rookie winger Akhtar Ali, who scored his first international goal from close range following an excellent pass from Rehan Butt.
Pakistan got a golden opportunity to equalize but Sohail’s short corner strike went off target in the 62nd minute.
He got another opportunity five minutes later and missed again but this time Butt scored off a rebound to make it 4-4 to the delight of almost ten thousand fans at the National Stadium.
The teams will now leave for Chandigarh to begin the Indian leg of the series with the fifth game on Oct. 4. The other three Tests are to be played in New Delhi, Amritsar and Hyderabad.
