India survived a spirited display from Wales to record their first win of the group stage in a Pool B encounter, emerging 4-3 winners to get their 2018 Commonwealth Games campaign back on track in Gold Coast on Sunday.
Indians thrice took the lead and Gareth Furlong brought the Welsh side back in contention with a hat-trick of penalty corner conversions but the Indians had the last laugh when SV Sunil, who was by far the best player on the pitch, latched on to the rebound 90 seconds from the final hooter to ensure three points.
Dilpreet Singh (16th), Mandeep Singh (28th) and Harmanpreet Singh (57th) were the other scorers for India. But the penalty corner prowess of Furlong nearly derailed their good work.
(Read more: All the updates from an action-packed day four for India here.)
India, who were held to a 2-2 draw by Pakistan in the opening match, once again struggled to display the free flowing hockey they are known for and apart from the Harmanpreet goal in the third quarter, the quality of penalty corner conversion was nothing to rave about.
There was not much to choose between the two teams in the first quarter as they struggled to put together meaningful attacks. India had three shots at goal, including a penalty corner, but none of them were on target. Wales, on the other hand, went through the entire 15 minute without any attempt on Indian goal.
But that changed in the second quarter with India showing more purpose in the opening exchanges and were duly rewarded when Dilpreet Singh gave direction to a SV Sunil Pass in the 16th minute to put the Indians ahead.
But that joy could not last for long as Wales managed to earn a penalty corner and Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh had no chance of blocking the drag flick from Gareth Furlong, who pushed it low to the left of the Indian goal.
But undeterred by the set-back, India continued to mount attacks from the right flank with Sunil trying to break the tight Welsh marking with his trademark sprints.
Though he didn’t succeed much in making any significant inroad, India did earn a penalty corner in the 28th minute and Mandeep Singh tapped home the second goal after a melee near the goalmouth.
After half time, India looked much more in control as they forced Wales to try and attack from the flanks to break the Indian midfield’s stranglehold on the proceedings.
Though India were not really adventurous in looking for goals, the midfield ensured that Wales also could not build pressure on their goal by keeping possession and preferred to use the long ball to create an opening.
The best chance fell to Akashdeep Singh, who received a through ball from skipper Manpreet Singh in the midfield but his push to find a striker in the box was too weak.
And Wales made them pay for the passive approach as soon as they earned a penalty corner. Furlong was once again on target, this time pushing the ball to the top left hand corner in the 45th minute to set up a tense final quarter.
Akashdeep had another golden opportunity to score when Rupinder Pal Singh swept the ball from outside the 25 yard line across the Wales goal but the striker could not connect to the ball despite diving in front of the goal mouth.
The joy of a penalty corner conversion from Harmanpreet Singh in the 57th minute did not last even a minute as Furlong completed his hat-trick with an extremely fast drag-flick down the middle to level the scores.
To the relief of the entire Indian bench, Sunil was alert to latch on to the rebound off a Rupinder Pal’s penalty corner to score the winner.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!