Holland beat India in Champions Trophy

AMSTELVEEN: It was a match India should have won. But in the end, they came out losers and in a manner that certainly does not augur well for the rest of their Champions Trophy campaign. Despite a 3-0 lead with less than eight minutes to go, India lost 3-4. Sure, some of the decisions of the English umpire Stephen Brookes looked poor, hasty and illogical, still the Indians had no business to squander such a fantastic lead like 3-0.
Earlier in the first match, our neighbours, Pakistan, did something similar, but their game at least gave them a point, with their clash against Australia ending in a 4-4 tie.In both games, India and Pakistan lost good leads and threw away a chance to start their campaigns with excellent victories.
As for the India match, it was expected to be close. India did have the better of exchanges in the first half, but the forwards did not do their job in a manner expected. The forwards did not click, but the defence did well to hold the attacking Dutch at bay. India were also unlucky not to have been awarded the goal, when Jugraj''s penalty corner strike hit the crosspiece bounced in, seemingly inside the line, and then came out. Brookes did not allow the goal.
In the second half, the forwards were flowing freely and that resulted in three goals. Off the fourth penalty corner, Jugraj Singh, who was found wanting in the first half, converted beautifully to make it 1-0. A little later Deepak Thakur scored and then he added another to make it 3-0 when he tapped in a wonderful scoop over the goalkeeper scoop by Thakur. The Dutch looked listless, but they did not give up. Their coach Joost Bellart then began shifting his forwards and put Ronald Brouwer to better use. That gave results as goals suddenly came in a torrent.
Worse still was that the Indians seemed to be playing the way the Dutch wanted. The Indian midfield, which at various points had Viren Rasquinha, Jugraj, Bimal Lakra and Baljit Saini manning it, was going astray and gaps appeared. Rob Reckers got Holland''s first goal and within minutes of that Taeke Taekena finally converted a penalty corner on their seventh attempt for Holland to make it 2-3. Earlier, Brookes, after giving Holland two penalty corners in a row gave a third, but quickly reversed it.
India already shaken by the Dutch fightback were dealt a big blow by Brookes a few minutes later. In a melee in front of the goal, the ball suddenly entered the goal and Brookes blew the whistle signalling it as a goal. The Indians argued with him, saying that the ball seemed to have travelled in off a Dutch players foot. But all that India got was a yellow card for their skipper Dhanraj Pillay, who was rather subdued in his play otherwise.
With the clock not working, no one knew how much times was left, and India were reduced to ten. Then came the final blow. Off a free hit from just outside the circle, the ball was trapped by Ronald Brouwer, who shot home successfully to make it 4-3, the first time Holland had led in the match. It was also the last shot of the game, as the table referees signalled the end of a miserable game for India.
Earlier, the tournament got off to a fast-paced match, which saw Australia holding their nerve to snatch a 4-4 draw. I feel Pakistan set too fast a pace in the first half, which they could not manage to keep up in the second. They tried to slow down the game in the second, but were unable to control the pace and conceded two goals in the last five minutes including one in the very last second.