GOLD COAST: Mubashir Ali’s brilliant goal in the dying moments earned Pakistan a sensational 2-2 draw against arch-rivals India here in the Commonwealth Games hockey event at the Gold Coast Hockey Centre on Saturday.

Pakistan were in two goals deficit at the start of the third quarter after India had scored two quick goals courtesy Dilpreet Singh (13th minute) and Harmanpreet Singh (19th minute).

However, the Greenshirts came back strongly into the match by scoring late goals through Mohammed Irfan Junior (38th minute) and Mubashar (59th) to end the game at 2-2 in front of a packed to capacity crowd of nearly 20,000.

The clash was being was touted as the blockbuster of the preliminary stage and it surely lived up to the hype. The diaspora of both the countries was out in good numbers but adding to the fervour were the Australian fans, who showed up to just soak in the excitement of an Indo-Pak clash. The beat of the dhol, that usually amplifies the excitement, was also there adding to the fervour.

In the first two quarters of the match, India clearly were the dominant force, keeping Pakistan at bay most of the time and their efforts paying off handsomely with the two goals.

But Pakistan forwards regrouped from third quarter onwards to make incessant attacks at the rival’s goalpost and carried the edge, slamming in the equalisers in superb fashion.

India earned a penalty corner quite early in the third quarter but Pakistan goalkeeper Imran Butt easily deflected Rupinder Pal Singh’s feeble attempt.

Pakistan turned on the intensity in the final 15 minutes and were rewarded with three back-to-back penalty corners. But they just could not slot the all-important equaliser, denied by a solid India goalkeeper Sreejesh.

India’s Mandeep Singh had the chance to increase India’s lead in the dying minutes of the match but his shot was deflected.

With just seven seconds left on the clock, Pakistan earned a penalty corner, causing some anxiety in the Indian camp, and their old fears turned out to be true when Mubashir banged the board to clinch the draw for his team.

The hard-fought match saw players from both sides losing their cool on a number of occasions that resulted in two green cards and four yellow cards issued.

“We were not happy with our performance. We wanted to win this game and are disappointed with the result,” said defender Rupinder Pal Singh.

But Pakistan captain and midfielder Mohammed Rizwan was delighted with the team’s efforts. “To come back from 0-2 down is a team effort,” he said “It’s a learning process, as there are lots of new guys, and we’ve only been with our coach for two-and-a-half weeks.”

Later, POA president retired Lt Gen Arif Hasan, in his brief meeting with the hockey players and the coaches, lauded the team’s performance. “The brilliant comeback by your team against India today is heartening to see and will surely give you confidence for the next matches,” Arif said to them.

He also had special praise for team’s Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans. “Oltman’s coaching is already making a difference and his rich experience has been invaluable in preparing the team for the tough event here.”

Pakistan will face England on Sunday in another important match of the Commonwealth Games.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2018