New Delhi: Penalty-corner specialist Sandeep Singh's conversion in the dying minutes took India to a narrow 2-1 win in a keenly-contested second match of the hockey Test series against South Africa here at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium on Tuesday.
Both the goals South Africa conceded came before the hooter - in the 33rd and 68th minute of the game. After Chingelnsana Singh gave India the lead, Lance Louw struck the equaliser in the 43rd minute before Sandeep snatched victory for India in the final moments of the game.
Tushar Khandekar celebrated his 200th international with the captain's band on his arm as Sardar Singh was rested for the game and India's starting line-up showed as many as nine changes. This, though, is in sync with coach Michael Nobbs' strategy to find the perfect combination before the Olympic qualifiers.
South Africa had a far better start compared to the 4-0 drubbing they received in the first match on Monday. The man-to-man marking restricted India's coordination, which looked seriously out of shape in the absence of Sardar as centre-half.
Ravi Pal and Mandeep Antil, playing on the right wing, couldn't construct a potent move despite several chances in the opening exchanges that also saw South Africa missing three chances in the 5th, 9th and 10th minute by Rhett Halkett, Austin Smith and Taine Paton respectively. Bharat Chetri, who replaced PR Sreejesh for the match, foiled all those moves with reflex saves.
Iganace Tirkey and Vikram Pillay took turns to fill in for Sardar as centre-half but failed to feed the forward line with goal-scoring balls. However, Dharamvir Singh had a chance to put India ahead in the 18th minute but his shot went off target.
India were the better side thereafter in the first half, penetrating South Africa's 25-yard box repeatedly. But the finishing and trapping let the hosts down on a number of occasions. One such well-stitched move by Pillay, SK Uthappa and Dharamvir in the 32nd minute once again ended on a disappointing note with a defective finish.
It was Chingelnsana who made India the happier team going into the dug-out at half-time. A minute before the break, Sandeep dribbled all the way into the striking circle from the left and passed it onto Chingelnsana, who tapped it in to make it 1-0.
The second half began with India earning their first penalty corner a minute into the resumption but VS Vinay failed to stop it cleanly.
The visitors then struck some rhythm after the 40th minute, earning three PCs in a row. However, Indian goalkeeper Chetri was up to the task on each of the drag-flicks unleashed by the South African full-back. However, the equaliser came South Africa's way in the 43rd minute when Louw sounded the board to bring his team back into fray.
The visiting team then almost took the lead in the 54th minute but Chhetri had the angle covered with a diving save to his right off a powerful strike by Lloyd Norris-Jones.
Both the teams picked up pace 15 minutes before the final hooter, with counter-attacks coming thick and fast. However, the finishing went missing for both the sides, who let a number of chances go a begging.
But the penalty corner India got in the 68th minute turned out to be decisive as Sandeep's lethal drag-flick netted the winner for India, giving them a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
India's coach Nobbs was concerned about the trapping errors, saying they need to iron out these basic flaws that can prove costly in close games like this. "We need to take care of these basic skills, but as I said, we are trying to find the right combination in these games and we are moving close to achieving that."
The South African coach was distraught at losing a game they could have won or at least drawn, but was content with the improvement his side showed in a day's time. "This was a vastly improved performance by us, though it’s always painful to lose. Considering that we've played so little since the Beijing Olympics, this performance gives us a lot of hope to do well in the rest of the series."
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