The stage is set for another interesting duel between arch-rivals India and Pakistan who clash here tomorrow for a place in the final of the three-nation invitational hockey tournament. India hold a slight advantage, having won one of their two previous league matches, and need only a draw tomorrow to qualify for the final.On the other hand, Pakistan, who suffered a shock 3-0 defeat to Australia ‘A’ yesterday, have lost both their league matches so far and must win by a comprehensive margin tomorrow in order to make it to the final. Australia have already secured a final berth having defeated both India and Pakistan and are yet to concede a goal in the tournament, a fact that underlines their awesome form.Knowing well the hype and hopes of an expectant nation every time they take the field against Pakistan, India will be keen for an Asian Games encore when they beat their rivals by a 4-3 margin in the semi-finals. The two sides played each other four times last year with India winning three of them. Pakistan’s only victory came in the playoff for the 3-4 place in the Champions Trophy.The Indian team may draw some heart from the recent record but they know everything else will cease to matter and boil down to their performance in the field tomorrow. India coach Rajinder Singh was not exactly a relaxed man because the team’s form has been mixed here. They did well to blank Australia ‘A’ whose strength can be gauged from the fact that they tamed an otherwise strong Pakistan for a 3-0 win. But before the euphoria of winning their tournament opener could die down, the Indians got a rude awakening from a rampaging Australia who inflicted a 2-0 defeat on them.“We were done in by poor defence against Australia. Also we were put under pressure right from the start as we conceded a goal in the very third minute,” said Rajinder Singh.“But we had an extensive training session today where we tried to plug in the loopholes. We will be fresh for the match and the mood in the team is very upbeat,” said the Indian coach who guided the junior side to World Cup glory in 2001. And Pakistan coach Tahir Zaman was equally hopeful of putting it across India despite the shock reversal at the hands of second-string Australia ‘A’ side.“Nobody likes to lose a match. Hockey is our national game, so when you are playing against India everybody is interested and it is always a big occasion. We will certainly try and give our fans some good news,” Zaman said.Rajinder Singh agreed that the match will provide the crowd with great excitement as the two arch-rivals will cross swords for the first time after the Asian Games in September last year.“The conditions will be different tomorrow. There will be a lot of excitement both on and off the field as India and Pakistan matches always have had a different charm,” he said adding India’s strategy would be to play attacking hockey.Rajinder Singh was worried about the defence a wee bit and hinted there would be some changes in the line-up tomorrow.“As a matter of strategy we would not like to reveal what changes we are planning. But it (strategy) is all about adjusting to the fast grounds here. Adjusting to the conditions is very important because we are looking ahead at the Athens Olympics next year,” he said.The coach was relieved by the fact that the boys were not too worked up about tomorrow’s match. “The boys are trying their best not to get into any kind of pressure.” Though a draw would be sufficient to take India to the final on Sunday, Rajinder Singh said the team will be going all out for a win. “If we aim at a draw we will end up losing. So we will press for victory and there is no reason why we cannot do it.”
