Skipper Tirkey An Asset

The series is over, but a win in the last match atleast ended the series on a positive note for the Indians who scored a good 2-0win, only their second in the eight-match series which they lost 2-4.

It was great to see Dilip Tirkey back in action to leadthe team. Tirkey has been a good motivator for the side and his own performancehas shown tremendous upward movement in the past couple of years. As the seniorman, he shows a lot of maturity and is able to get the best out of the side. Heis indeed an asset in the defence and when he is leading, the team looks morepurposeful.

In their two previous encounters in Hyderabad, Indiahad beaten Pakistan on both the occasions and this seemed to charge them up evenbefore the final match had began. India had beaten Pakistan in both the leagueand final in the Afro-Asian Games last year.

For a change, the Indians used both their flankseffectively. They played with better combination and showed themselves to be aunit, rather than disjointed pieces as was the case in the past matches. Therewas a method in the way the midfield and forward line functioned. And theefforts showed.

While there is no denying the talent in the side, whatI feel is holding them back in terms of overall performance is lack ofconsistency. That could be because of a variety of reasons, including fitnessand injuries.

Coming back to the Hyderabad match, Sandeep Michaelscored first after exerting a lot of pressure on the Pakistani defence.

It was Tushar Khandekar who started the move with agood run on the left flank. Combining with Vikram Pillay, the ball finally cameto Michael, who scored with a deflection after Pillay had a shy.

Khandekar himself added the second goal to make it 2-0.Prabodh Tirkey went on a solo run following a counter attack and he made theball for Khandekar who did the needful.

There were some more chances for India, but they didnot materialise into goals. On the other hand, even though Indian goalkeeperAdrian D'Souza and the defence led by Tirkey did a geat job, it seemed Pakistanwere short on motivation.

Probably, they felt the job was done after the serieshad been won. It is a failing that can cost them in the future, because no teamcan afford to let another team gain psychological advantage even in aninconsequential match.

From India's point of view, whenever they meet Pakistannext, they will go in with the positive feeling of having won the previousclash.

The new world record holder for maximum goals ininternational hockey, Sohail Abbas, was not able to add to his tally. Pakistangot six penalty corners and all were wasted.

To some extent the credit for that should go to D'Souza,who has been terrific throughout the year. He charged out too soon to stop Abbasand in the bargain it also cost him a green card, but he had saved the citadeland in the end that is what counts.

Finally, it was nice to see such camaraderie betweenthe two teams.

The teams formed a kind of an umbrella as Abbas walkedout for the final match of the series, which was held after a gap of five years.Indeed, it has been a great series, even though one can question the timing ofit, but it is still better than not having any hockey at all.

PTI