NEW DELHI: On Monday, Delhiites will wake up with groggy eyes and creaky throats, after they consumed a heavy concoction of suffocating emotion, historical import and, occasionally, high quality hockey. It was an excuse to be different — louder, nastier, braver — at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium. But it was worth expending their energy, as India swamped Pakistan 7-4 to seal their semifinal spot, a first in the Commonwealth Games.
The tension when both sides sped to their halves after the national anthems was as contagious as intoxicating. There were flags waving, vocal chords stretched beyond the humanly possible
India raced to a 4-0 lead in 20 minutes. And the old ghosts of Shivendra Singh and Sandeep Singh haunted them again. Sandeep fired in two drag flicks to set the crowd into delirium. Sandeep conceptualised the third goal — his fierce drive found a prowling Shivendra, who made no mistake of it.
But unpredictable as Pakistan are, for they often oscillates between the sublime and the ordinary, they can never be discounted. Tonight wasn’t one of those nights, but Indians did feel the fraying of nerves when Pakistan scored twice in two minutes — Imran Muhammad converting a stroke that arose from a contentious penalty corner and a smart piece of anticipation by Rizwan Muhammad.
However, five minutes into the half-time, India asserted their ascendancy with Danish Mujtaba striking in a rebound off Sandeep’s short corner in the 40th minute and Dharamvir converting Shivendra’s cross five minutes later.
But the game wasn’t yet finished. Rajpal Singh, at his speedy best, dodged past Pakistani sticks to provide Shivendra with a sharp chance. The most menacing of Indian forwards, Shivendra, followed up the goal with his trademark salute.
Two late goals lend some respectability to the scoreline, but in terms of quality there was little the match could brag about. It was just another showpiece contest, where the script was written by hosts.
