India fight back but not enough vs England; Belgium, Spain register upset wins

India fight back but not enough vs England; Belgium, Spain register upset wins

bhubaneshwar : India took their own sweet time to wake up from the blissful trance they seemed to have gone into after having pushed world champions Australia to the limit on the first day. But just as the spectators screamed their loudest to egg the hosts towards victory, Sam Ward’s stunning on-the-turn strike into the far corner burst the bubble and denied India a well-earned point.
It took India three quarters and two England goals to find the current they had shown in their 1-1 draw against Australia on Friday. While Akashdeep Singh’s follow-up tap-in (47th minute) after a drag-flick that rebounded off the goalkeeper’s pads woke the crowd up, the decibel levels in the stadium after Rupinder Pal Singh’s equaliser (50th) from a penalty corner went through the roof.
The crowd, which had been lulled into a daze by England’s choke-hold over a lackadaisical India, found its voice again. Chants of “India jeete ga” echoed around the Kalinga Stadium, and along with the crowd, the players also started to believe they could steal a spectacular come-from-behind victory. And they dominated England for most part of the next seven minutes. However, they got carried away trying to find the goal, and a drop in concentration gave Ward a half chance he grabbed with both hands.
It was, in fact, Ward’s first goal, in the 43rd minute, that had come as a wakeup call for India. An innocuous scoop into the India circle should have been easily handled by Harmanpreet Singh. But the youngster played for the whistle, trying to get a 5-yard foul with Ward behind him. But in keeping an eye on Ward, he failed to stop the ball, and Ward easily rounded up the hapless goalkeeper to score England’s second.
Their first goal (25th) had also been a soft one. Two Indian players were caught out of position and a manageable cross pushed in from left went into the goal off the inside of goalkeeper Suraj Karkera’s extended left leg.India had not started the match in their usual speedy style and looked guarded in their approach. They were haphazard and “did not playing to our game plan”, as SK Uthappa said during a halftime interview.

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