And an end-to-end thrilling contest at the Hockey Asia Cup in Rajgir, saw India clinch a nail-biting 3-2 win over Japan and edge closer to sealing their spot in the Super 4s.
Harmanpreet Singh scored a brace and Mandeep Singh found an early goal as the hosts learnt quickly from their mistakes in the 4-3 win over China.
The Indian team looked to be far better in possession and defending from the front as they systematically dismantled the Japanese side, who came into the match on the back of a 7-0 win over Kazakhstan. However, Japan fought back late and ended up putting India on their toes till the very end.
India will play their final Pool A game against Kazakhstan on Monday, September 1 and a win will help them go into Super 4s unbeaten. Japan will now have to battle it out with China, who secured a 13-1 win over Kazakhstan earlier in the day.
India captain Harmanpreet Singh scored a brace vs Japan.India seemingly turn a corner
The performance of Harmanpreet and Co. in the first game found a lot of criticism as there felt like some Pro League hangover in the output. But the first quarter was certainly way improved as India looked calm, composed and showed dominance.
India started off brilliantly and on the front foot with Manpreet coming close in the 3rd minute. But the goal came in early with Mandeep displaying some sensational stick skills with his back to the goal and bamboozling the Japanese goalkeeper to give India the lead in the 4th minute.
All the trouble was coming from the left-hand side with Sukhjeet’s mazy run earning the hosts their first PC. Harmanpreet, who got a hat-trick in the first game, had his shot blocked. The second one was also blocked, but India got another one in. But each time the Indian skipper’s effort was being stopped before the fourth one worked like a charm and went in to make it 2-0 within the first five minutes.
Krishan Pathak, who was making his 150th international appearance, had many doubters coming into the contest after conceding three in the last game. But when it mattered the most, Pathak stepped up with two magnificent saves in the 13th minute to preserve India’s lead.
The second quarter started much like the first one with India remaining rigid in defence and Abhishek and Mandeep almost pulled off a good counter-attack. Japan did come close, but the shot went wide in the end.
A green card for Amit Rohidas in the 23rd minute did bring Japan back into the game with four back-to-back PCs. But each time, the Indian defence was right up to the task.
India got their first PC of the 2nd quarter in the 27th minute, but the shot from Manpreet went just wide. The hosts came close once again soon after, when Sukhjeet was unable to get onto the end of a pass.
The start from India after the second half was spectacular as Abhishek almost got on the end of a pass from Sanjay. Mandeep forced Yoshikawa to make a save and Abhishek was almost able to make the most of a chance.
Another fine counter-attack saw Harmanpreet become a striker for a change as he almost a shot away from Sukhjeet’s delightful pass. The pressure was immense on the Japanese defence and India were knocking on the door for a third goal.
But against the run of play, Japan pulled one back in the 38th minute as Kosei Kawabe scored a fine goal.
Defending from the front
Coach Fulton has long been an advocate of the philosophy. Defence is the best form of attack. So he would have been mightly pleased seeing his side defend right from the front.
Despite conceding one, the Indian team maintained the pressure on the Japanese defence. The persistence paid off in the end as at the stroke of the third quarter, Harmanpreet backed his second of the day to restore India’s two-goal lead.
And when there was a PC in the 49th minute, Suraj Karkera produced two brilliant saves to keep the score intact for India.
Although Japan did respond again, and this time with a little bit more girth in their play after Kawabe Kosei netted a goal for his side, but with only one minute remaining in the match. With no time find the equaliser, it was India who held through and secured their drive for Super 4s.
China run riot vs Kazakhstan
It was China who started the match on the front foot with a delightful ball into the D and had their shot go just wide. But Kazakhstan shocked everyone in the second minute as China lost the ball in the middle of the park and allowed their opponents to gain a PC. It was slotted home by Agymtay Duisengazy to give Kazakhstan the unlikely lead.
China got their first PC of the game in the sixth minute and the shot by Jiesheng Gao went wide. The interesting part in the first 10 minutes of the game was to see Kazakhstan be a lot stronger in defence. They had come off a 7-0 drubbing from Japan, but seemed to be a lot more cohesive at the back. Or so we thought.
China got their second PC of the match and this time, Shihao Du made no mistake to level the scores in the 9th minute. This was the turning point China were looking for as Yuanlin Lu’s mazy run cut open the Kazakhstan defence from the right and fed Qijun Chen, who made no mistake and slotted it home to make it 2-1.
The third goal followed soon as Changliang Lin helped China gain full control just before the first quarter came to an end. The momentum was firmly with Anthony Farry’s side as they got their third PC right after the restart and Lu’s shot went agonisingly wide.
Almost against the run of play Kazakhstan got a PC soon after and they worked a beautiful variation but the shot from Duisengazy was just wide in the 18th minute.
The second quarter remained mostly about the Chinese side maintaining possession and trying to find a systematic way to break down the Kazakhstan defence. But the floodgates opened in the dying moments of the second quarter as Benhai Chen found the back of the net with a PC.
Lu then made it 5-1 right after the second half restart and the goals just started to pour in. Gao scored a PC soon after with Changliang Lin, Xiaolong Guo and Lu getting in on the act.
Lu got his hat-trick and China’s 10th from their fourth PC conversion to make it 10-1. In the final quarter of play as Du got his second of the match. Chen also completed his brace with a fine run and finish and then Guo made it 13-1.