India limp to victory over Wales

India were left with a mountain to climb following England’s 4-0 spanking of Spain in the preceding game if they wanted to top Pool D to advance directly to the quarterfinals and avoid playing the extra crossover game. They had to beat Wales by an eight-goal margin, something which they’d never done in a FIH World Cup game - their biggest win being a 7-0 defeat of Ghana way back in 1975.

With World Cup debutantes Wales, whose campaign was partly crowdfunded, offering a strong resistance, India not only struggled to scale the peak but even stared at a momentous slip-up with a quarter left. They, somehow, managed to rescue themselves, settling for a less than impressive 4-2 win at the Kalinga Stadium.

The result meant India finished second in the group and will now take on New Zealand in their crossover game here on Sunday. A win against the Black Sticks could potentially set up a last-eight clash against defending and Olympic champions Belgium.

Forced to go full tilt against a team made up of amateurs to gain the extra couple of days rest, it was not surprising India came charging out of the blocks. They kept bombarding the Wales citadel with a series of moves and Wales, totally expecting it, just parked their bus around the 23-yard circle to stifle India.

The hosts, who have struggled with the final pass and finish, were found wanting yet again on that front for a third game in succession. The midfielders and forwards did a good job of keeping the ball in the Wales’ final third but lacked the creativity or finesse to find the back of the net. Most of their runs were easily mopped out by a disciplined and determined Wales.

The odd time they breached the Wales defence, goalkeeper Toby Reynolds-Cotterill was there to parry them away. The keeper, imposing in size and nicknamed The Big Cat by the team, was exceptional on the night, quickly reading impending dangers and fast in figuring out where the Indians would take a strike. In fact, his brilliance — he produced some stunning saves — ensured India didn’t get off to a blazing start.

Such was India’s desperation, they even resorted to long balls as Plan B which made life much easier for Wales as they didn’t have to burn their lungs. The script remained the same in the opening of the second quarter and anxiety began to grow in the Indian camp. The normally raucous Bhubaneswar crowd and noisy emcee too went silent.

Shamsher then sent the stadium wild when he broke the deadlock in the 21st minute before Akashdeep doubled the lead in the 32nd minute. India were beginning to gain the much-needed thrust but against the run of play Wales struck, not once but twice, to leave the hosts befuddled. Suddenly, from searching for a big win, India were trying to save themselves from a major embarrassment. Wales, with their tails-up, were the ones now looking more threatening.

Thankfully for India, Akashdeep scored his second in the 45th minute and captain Harmanpreet Singh finally opened his account from a penalty corner with a minute from end to snap the Wales charge.

Results: Pool C: Malaysia: 3 (Faizal Saari 8th, 56th, Rahim Razie 42nd) bt New Zealand: 2 (Hayden Phillips 51st, Sam Lane 52nd); Netherlands: 14 (Jip Jansen 6th, 29th, 34th, 44th, Derck de Vilder 22nd, Thijs van Dam 23rd, Thierry Brinkman 25th, 33rd, 58th, Terrance Pieters 37th, Koen Bijen 40th, 45th, Justen Blok 42nd, Teun Beins 48th) bt Chile: 0.

Pool D: England: 4 (Phil Roper 10th, David Condon 21st, Nicholas Bandurak 50th, Liam Ansell 51st) bt Spain: 0; India: 4 (Shamsher Singh 21st, Akashdeep Singh 32nd, 45th, Harmanpreet Singh 59th) bt Wales: 2 (Gareth Furlong 42nd, Jacob Draper 44th).