QUETTA, Sept 27: Two penalty corner strikes by Sandeep Singh gave arch-rivals India a morale-boosting 4-1 victory over Pakistan to level the eight-match hockey series 1-1 on Monday.

Pakistan, who were given a big fright by the youthful Indian side in the first match that the hosts could manage to win 2-1, were outclassed in virtually all the departments as the visitors took a whirlwind start like they did in the opening game in Karachi.

Not only Pakistan's most lethal weapon Sohail Abbas missed the opportunities twice, the home side could not take advantage off two more short corners when Dilawar Hussain failed in stopping the ball properly in the late second half at packed-to-capacity Gen Musa Hockey Stadium.

The start was as nightmarish for the Pakistanis as it was in Karachi when the Indians went 1-0 up through a blistering and low penalty effort through Sandeep that went like a bullet past goalkeeper Salman Akbar in the 15th minute.

The Indians did not give the shell-shocked Pakistanis time to recover and were 2-0 a head just two minutes later with yet another lightning short corner drill, this time Sandeep drag-flicking the ball between Salman's legs.

Both the strikes by Sandeep were well planned and executed as he took full advantage of Salman sending the ball low with a ferocious speed. But surprisingly, Pakistan did not have a stand-in goalkeeper Nasir Ahmad in the line-up.

Two rapid fire goals knocked the life out of the Pakistanis who were already in disarray and looked like a disjointed lot from the outset. While the Pakistani forward-line, also having debutante Asim Khan, was already ineffective, tight marking of Rehan Butt by the Indians did further damage.

After learning from the first game when Sohail was halted thrice out of four short corners, the Pakistani full-back went with a different drill but remained off target in the 25th as diminutive Indian goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza and the dashers were alert.

Sohail got another opportunity in the 31st minute, but sent the ball wide off target, perhaps feeling too much pressure after conceding two goals and because of failure of the first game.

Pakistan forwards were also busy in forcing short corners rather making serious efforts in scoring a field goal that must have put more pressure on Sohail. While the home team was trying in a disorganized manner to reduce the margin, it got yet another chink in its armour two minutes before lemons that made the Indians completely a dominating force.

Cohesion in the Indian forwards resulted in goal number three as Ignace Tirkey slammed home following a pass from outside the circle. Salman, however, eased the pressure off his side when he produced two brilliant saves in the dying moments of the first half by padding away to safety two Dilip Tirkey penalty corner strikes as Sandeep was on bench.

Pakistan were on the attack after resumption but all they could was to miss chances from close while D'Souza was also vigilant under the bar. Akhtar Ali first tested D'Souza and then Dilawar attempted off a rebound only to be denied by the custodian four minutes into second session.

But the real goal-scoring chance for the Pakistanis came in the 52nd minute, standing at the goal mouth, Akhtar missed an inch-perfect cross from Rehan from right. India were reduced to ten players in the 57th minute after umpire Amar Jeet gave temporary suspension to Viren Rasquinha for a rough tackle on Pakistan captain Waseem Ahmad. But the home side could not take advantage of the situation as Dilawar twice failed in stopping the ball properly during the penalty corners in the 58th and 60th minutes.

The Indians virtually sealed the fate of the game when they counter-attacked to slot home the fourth through Tushar Khandekar who caught the Pakistani defenders off guard by cutting in deep from the left. Devesh Chauhan replaced D'Souza two minutes before the end after which Pakistan manage to score a consolation goal through Ghazanfar Ali off an indirect drill.

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