CHENNAI: As the final hooter cut through the late evening air inside the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, the scoreline had a sense of authority to it. India 4-0 Pakistan. In terms of the recent history of this rivalry, the final result didn’t flatter the hosts.
After a slightly tacky start when Pakistan thought they scored only for it to be cruelly taken away — unfairly in the eyes of their coach Muhammad Saqlain who wasted little time in lashing out — the hosts grew into the contest.
In recent times, they have tended to be more measured in their approach. On Wednesday, they didn’t bother with that. Against a Pakistan outfit who betrayed their inexperience on a number of occasions, they ran at them, created lots of scoring chances and walked away worthy winners.
Watching it all was a capacity crowd whose last experience of an India vs Pakistan match in hockey was the 2005 Champions Trophy (the hosts won that 3-2). Unlike the other days when the crowd was quiet and half full, they were tuned in from the get-go. You could sense that something was brewing days ago when the organisers had run out of tickets. And it lived up to the billing as fans started walking towards Gandhi-Irwin Road a good four hours before the game.
Vendors also set stalls outside the stadium as they tried to move cheap replica jerseys of the Indian team (they are frequently present outside MA Chidambaram Stadium on Wallajah Road and Bells Road during Indian Premier League and other international cricket matches). It was the first time they had all descended in such huge numbers this week.
Inside the stadium, too, there were a lot of people who came in sporting India jerseys of various sporting disciplines. As soon as Harmanpreet Singh scored just before the end of the first quarter, the tension lifted and the dance moves started in the gallery. They will hope that they can repeat some of those dance moves when they face Japan in the semifinals on Friday.
