BENGALURU: For a decade, the senior Indian men’s hockey side haven’t lost to Pakistan. 19 matches, 17 wins and two draws. The dominance has been near total. And matches have spanned multiple events: Asian Games, Asian Champions Trophy, Asia Cup, Commonwealth Games and FIH events. Forget the hype that’s already been visible on TV screens over the last few days. Thanks to the difference in the skill levels between the two nations, the gap is embarrassingly yawning.
But it’s time to forget all of that and treat the 90 minutes at the Wagener Stadium on Wednesday as a standalone event where history, form and recent meetings have no bearing.
But this is exactly the kind of situation that India will have trained for in the lead-up to the World Cup. When they were reduced to 10 men at the Olympics quarterfinal against England, the players could have easily been rattled. Instead, they knew what to do because they had prepared for that scenario. Similarly, Paddy Upton, the side’s mental conditioning guru, will have war-gamed this exact scenario.
Play a match against Pakistan at the World Cup knowing only a win will seal qualification. As long as India don’t go away from the basics of the sport, this is a game they will back themselves to win 95 times out of 100. Their penalty corner battery is world-class and it’s currently purring with Harmanpreet Singh finding some form in this bash.
Last five matches
2026 Pro League: Ind bt Pak 7-1
2026 Pro League: Ind bt Pak 4-3
2024 Asian Champions Trophy: Ind bt Pak 2-1
2023 Asian Games: Ind bt Pak 10-2
2023 Asian Champions Trophy: Ind bt Pak 4-0