PESHAWAR, Sept 29: After a derailment in Quetta, the start-stop Pakistan got back on track on Wednesday scoring a narrow 3-2 victory over India in the third hockey Test, Sohail Abbas firing in a late match winner.
Just when it appeared that the match was heading for a draw, the touring team having fought back from two goals down, Sohail stepped in to fire home from Pakistan's third short corner three minutes from time.
Sohail, who had gone goal-less in Quetta, closed in on Paul Litjens record of 267 goals, needing another four to establish a new mark. The victory earned the home team a vital 2-1 lead in the eight match series with the last game of the Pakistan leg to be played in Lahore on Friday. Four of the Tests are to be played in India.
Clearly some work seemed to have been done on the drawing board following Monday's 1-4 defeat in the second Test which showed on the field of play at the Lala Ayub Stadium on Wednesday.
Goals from Muddasir Ali Khan on the 17th and a second by Shakeel Abbasi 10 minutes later gave Pakistan a 2-0 advantage by half time. But that could have been a bit narrower had Sandeep Michael's goal not been disallowed by umpire Rashid Butt who ruled that the ball had been struck from outside the semi circle.
India, had started off well forcing a short corner in the 8th minute, which saw captain Dilip Tirkey's sizzling shot felling Zeeshan Ashraf. He had to be replaced by Imran Khan.
Two more short corners also went futile, set-piece specialist Sandeep Singh, who had a brace of goals in the second Test, hitting wide in the 25th minute and Dilip Tirkey shot being adjudged foul soon afterwards.
India without some of their key players, including their dribble king Dhanraj Pillay, continued to play with the kind of spirit that they had displayed on Monday.
This resulted in Tushar Khandekar pulling one back for his side with a strike in the 53rd minute, a goal Pakistan's Dutch coach Roelant Otlmans thought should not have been allowed.
The touring team's equalizer, in the 62nd minute that silenced the home spectators, came through Arjun Hallapa whose push gave Pakistan net-minder Salman Akbar no chance.
With time running out for the hosts, it was obvious that if anyone could now save the day for Pakistan, it had to be Sohail. And the defender coolly walked up to his mark after Shakeel Abbasi had been brought down on the right by William Kalkoh, resulting in a short corner being awarded.
In came a perfect push, a fine stop and a great goal as Sohail threw up his trademark arm in triumph much to the cheers of the crowd. Indeed it was a welcome victory especially after the gloom that had surrounded the side following Monday s defeat.
Earlier, Sohail, hit high over the bar off his side's second short corner in the second session and then could not attempt off a first half set piece when the ball could not be stopped properly.
Oltmans said that although Pakistan had improved somewhat, his side still wasted several good scoring opportunities. "I am pleased that the boys played all the way to get a good result, but we needed to have more possession".
He praised the Indians for their fine play. "If this team continues to play like this, I am sure they are going to be back in the 2006 World Cup". India's German coach Gerhard Rach said his side was not being treated seriously when they arrived in Pakistan. Now that we have put in some good performances, all that seems to be quickly changing.
But he said that India should have scored off short corners, they earned four in all but could not make use of them. Sandeep, the 19-year-old from Haryana, the highest scorer of last year s Asian Junior Championship, could not make an impression.
Pakistan 3 India 2