The history of world hockey is incomplete without the legendary tales of India-Pakistan contests. So one can expect another high-adrenalin encounter when the two teams meet in one of the semifinals of the Champions Trophy at the Kalinga Stadium here on Saturday.
In the other semifinal, World champion Australia will meet Olympic champion Germany.
Even as India and Pakistan aim to revive the sport in their countries, their stunning turnaround in the Champions Trophy after early debacles in the pool stage has left everybody awe-struck.
Nobody had expected Pakistan to bounce back from three straight defeats, and outsmart a high-quality Dutch team in the quarterfinals.
But coach Shahnaz Sheikh had faith in his boys, who rose to the occasion at the right time and exhibited the virtues of using the wings.
The World No.11 has some dangerous strikers in Rizwan Sr and Muhammad Umer Bhutta, who are capable of changing the course of a match in no time.
The clever use of variations in converting penalty corners was another key point behind Pakistan’s success. Shahnaz has issued a veiled threat by saying that his team was yet to showcase its complete repertoire in this department.
The lethal duo of Muhammad Imran and Muhammad Irfan were too good against the Dutch and would be keen to repeat their act against the home side.
India’s High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans is aware of the possible threats and challenges. “I did not expect Pakistan to beat the Netherlands. They were more organised. I saw their structure and execution,” said Oltmans.
Even though passions might run high in such a contest, Oltmans expects his boys to focus on the execution of plans. The recent Asian Games experience, where India lost in the league stage before beating Pakistan to regain the continental title after 16 years, should come in handy.
India is bubbling with confidence after shooting down the Netherlands and Belgium, the second and fourth ranked sides in the world respectively, in succession.
Factors like the increasing utility of Rupinderpal Singh and Gurjinder Singh as defenders-cum-drag-flickers, the balancing act of Sardar Singh, Danish Mujtaba, Dharamvir Singh and Gurbaj Singh in the midfield and the effectiveness of S.V. Sunil and Akashdeep Singh upfront have combined well to help the side.
The World No.9 needs to translate its plans into action for 60 minutes to negate the threat of Pakistan. The city, which has supported India wholeheartedly, will hope to see the team come out with flying colours and touch a new high.
