Ordos: India staged a remarkable fightback to hold arch-rivals Pakistan to a 2-2 draw in a thrilling final group encounter of the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament on Friday.
Unbeaten in the tournament, India dominated the barren first-half, but conceded two goals in two minutes to trail 0-2 by the 42nd minute, only to come from behind to draw the match under chilly and windy conditions.
The match was a virtual semi-final, and with this draw, Pakistan booked a berth for the summit clash with 10 points from three wins and a draw.
India, ending the group round-robin league unbeaten on nine points with two wins and three draws, will have to wait for the results of the match between Japan and Malaysia to know whether they will make it to the final or not.
If Malaysia beat Japan, India sail through to the final provided South Korea, who are on six points, do not beat China by more than seven goals. Japan, on seven points, will pip India to the final if they beat Malaysia.
The Indian midfield was outstanding except a few errors that came under pressure. Ravi Pal and especially Gurbaj Singh were the players who kept the Pakistan defence under pressure. They were egged on by the women's hockey team and also by the Indian Ambassador to China, who had flown into Ordos for the match.
However, Pakistan took a 2-0 lead through Muhammad Waqas (40th minute) and Muhammad Irfan (42nd).
Waqas's goal was a result of India's first defensive lapse, and they paid heavily.
Two minutes later, Shakeel Abassi and a host of Pakistan forwards moved in and won Pakistan's first penalty corner.
Muhammad Irfan sent a flyer into the right corner of the net to notch up Pakistan's second goal.
But India responded immediately with Rupinder Singh Pal finding the target from an indirect penalty corner, while Danish Mujtaba scored the equaliser in the 53rd minute.
Mujtaba's equaliser, a deflection from his stick, was a tad controversial as New Zealand umpire Simon Taylor did not initially award a goal. But the Indians appealed and the South Korean umpire, after consultations with Taylor, let the goal stand.
With time running out, Pakistan played safe as a draw was enough for them to reach the final.
Indian coach Michael Nobbs rued that his side would have won had they converted the penalty corners.
"Penalty corners let us down but the boys would have learnt from this high-pressure match and I hope we get another match with them in the final," said Nobbs.
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