Goals from Shivendra Singh, Sandeep Singh and Prabhot Singh ensure India romp home to 4-1 win over neighbours in World Cup opener

India's four play too hot for Pakistan

Goals from Shivendra Singh, Sandeep Singh and Prabhot Singh ensure India romp home to 4-1 win over neighbours in World Cup opener
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Shivendra Singh opened the floodgates in the 27th minute after which Sandeep Singh added a brace sandwiched by a Prabhot Singh finish to hand India an emphatic 4-1 victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in the opening match of the FIH World Cup campaign yesterday.
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It may not be the end-all for India, but it was surely the perfect start to a tournament in the previous edition of which they finished an embarrassing 11th (out of 12 teams). This tie round though there's a spring in the footsteps of the Men in Blue and the 16000-odd crowd that had gathered at the Dhyan Chand Stadium here last night was witness to this.
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Forwards Shivendra Singh and Prabhjot Singh, midfielders Vikram Pillay and Arjun Halappa and defender Dhananjay Mahadik were the pick of the lot yesterday. In fact, forwards Bharat Chikara and Deepak Thakur too could have got their names on to the scoresheet had they latched on to a couple of chances inside the striking circle.
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But Shivendra and Prahbjot made no such mistake. Shivendra pounced on a Sandeep Singh drag-flick, off India's second penalty corner, that came back off Pakistan custodian Salman Akbar to tap in the opener that was welcome with a huge roar from the overenthusiastic public.
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Sandeep Singh then made it 2-0 for India with another of his lethal drag-flicks beatingu00a0
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Akbar to his left. Thereafter Pakistan earned a penalty corner too but much to India's good fortune star drag flicker Sohail Abbas' unstoppable push came off the cross bar. Going into the breather India were easily the more dominant of the two sides and would have boasted of at least 70 per cent ball possession (if not more) in the first half.
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The second half saw the neighbours take to the turf with renewed vigour and Sohail Abbas was presented with yet another drag flicking opportunity. This time too though the Indian cross piece kept the ball out. Prabhjot Singh then tapped in India's third after the Indian forwardline had once again split open the Pakistani defence. Sohail Abbas then manage to pull one back off Pakistan's fifth penalty corner.
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However, as if to rub salt into the wounds of the visitors, Sandeep showed that he could repeat his act on the other side of the pitch two, as he made it 4-1.
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The win earned each of the team members as support staff a reward of Rs One lakh from an overjoyed Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi.