In the last one year, Indian players have competed in a World League final, World Cup, Commonwealth Games and, of course, the Hockey India League. That’s nearly two dozen matches. They’ve trained rigorously in New Delhi, with Hockey India and Sports Authority of India splurging almost Rs15 crore on them. Lack of understanding and cohesiveness is an alibi they can’t afford.

Pakistan, on the other hand, haven’t played an international match at all in the last 12 months. Whatever matches their players have participated in have been in local games. After failing to qualify for the World Cup for the first time and deciding to skip the CWG, they came to Incheon with little or no match practice.

Yet, if you were a neutral watching the two sides at the Seonhak Stadium here, you would have been hard-pressed to figure out just which team were lacking match practice. It wasn’t that Pakistan were pretty and effective. They were as rusty, if not more, than India. But they possessed what India did not — a strong, winning mentality and unbridled aggression.

Almost an hour before the match began, kebab shop owners and businessmen from Pakistan who’ve made Incheon their unlikely home filled the grandstand. They were almost a couple of thousands, armed with drums, flags, hooters and, of course, loud voices. And they weren’t disappointed.

Maybe India were guilty of being complacent, as they have so often been in the past. They weren’t outplayed, nor were they dominated. But it was an error-strewn performance in all departments that cost them three points.

Let’s begin from the back. Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was once again India’s best player on the field. But once again, he was left stranded by his defence. There was a pattern to how Pakistan scored their goals. On both occasions, they began the move from the flanks. The centre-forward would stand right in front of Sreejesh and block his sight.

A crossed would be whipped in and with India’s defence slow to react and the goalkeeper not in position, Pakistan would score simple goals. The first one was netted by Muhammad Bhutta in the 38th minute and second, a minute after India equalised, was scored by Waqas Mohammad in the 54th.

Disoriented midfield

India’s midfield looked disoriented. If there was one thing that Sardar Singh’s side did consistently, it was conceding possession and committing unforced errors. Their over all game-play lacked proper build-up moves and momentum, constantly playing on the same gear. There were a few instances when SV Sunil would take the stadium’s breath away with his blitzing run on the wings or Sardar would light up the galleries with his skill.

During one such moment, he set-up India’s goal. Sardar spotted Kothajit making a sly run behind Pakistan’s defence. He slid in a pass, Kothajit released a cross from his second touch and Nikkin Thimmaiah scored in the 53rd minute to level the score. It was the only time the forwards showed understanding and executed a well-rehearsed move to perfection.

For the rest of the duration, they were caught out of position quite frequently or simply failed to beat a sturdy Pakistani defence. The Green Shirts, despite not enjoying more possession, would take plenty of heart from Thursday’s tie. It was a statement of intent from them, who have been playing down both their chances against India and about defending their gold.

Terry Walsh, India’s coach, downplayed the significance of this loss, even if it might result in the side facing hosts and favourites South Korea in the semifinal. India are currently placed second in Pool B behind their neighbours. Walsh, however, acknowledged that the team did not have the ‘desire and excitement’ as much as Pakistan.

“Pakistan played today’s game like it was the final of the tournament. This game was not as important as the final. This does not mean that the preliminaries are not important because these matches are the process to reach to the final,” the Aussie said. “However, our team did not have enough excitement and desire as Pakistan had. We will show such desire and excitement when we go to the final. We will be more enthusiastic when we have a match with China.”

The Pakistanis, meanwhile, continued to under-sell themselves. Immediately after the match, they offered prayers inside the dressing room, picked up their kit bags and boarded the bus back to the Village.