11 October 2004	Monday	25 Shaban 1425

HYDERABAD, Oct 10: India scored a consolation 2-0 victory over Pakistan in the final match of an eight-test series here on Sunday.

Sandeep Michael and Tushar Khandekar slammed in the goals as India reduced the margin to 4-2 after Pakistan had already clinched the series by winning the seventh match at Amritsar on Friday.

India scored both goals in the space of four minutes as Michael deflected in a cross from Vikram Pillay in the 16th minute and Tushar Khandekar followed it with a rasping drive from the left to increase the margin in the 19th.

India, who played the series without prominent players like Dhanraj Pillay, Prabhjot Singh and Gagan Ajit Singh, dominated the game from the start. The return of Dilip Tirkey, who missed the previous two matches due to an injury, proved crucial as the defence did a fine job to ensure Pakistan did not bounce back in the match.

"I thought it was a team effort. We marked their players tightly, passed the ball well and made fine clearances," said Tirkey. Goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza's agility ensured that even ace penalty corner specialist Sohail Abbas, who set a world record of 268 goals in the last match at Amritsar, was unable to score off Pakistan's six penalty corners.

"Adrian was outstanding. He has been doing very well in the past few months and has a bright future," said Tirkey. Pakistan captain Waseem Ahmad was not disappointed with the loss.

"I thought we played well but did not avail our chances. They made the most of their opportunities while we could not score even though we earned quite a few penalty-corners," he said.

The series, the seventh between the two countries, was played in two legs of four matches each in Pakistan and India. Pakistan have won five series, India have won one, while one ended in a draw. -AFP