Four goals, two each session and all from penalty corners resulted in India and New Zealand sharing points in the crucial contest of the Azlan Shah hockey tournament on Thursday.
By S. Thyagarajan
A heavy downpour left the conditions tricky on the field and the start had to be delayed by an hour and half. India required a victory to ensure a place in the final, but that was not to be, with the Kiwis striking in a penalty corner seven minutes before the hooter.
The Kiwis were off the mark early in the match thanks to an immaculate penalty corner hit by Richard Patherick but midway through Sandeep Singh netted. Shortly after the break, Sandeep Singh scored again raising visions of making it the cup final on Sunday with seven points.
Pressuring the rival into errors, the skipper Blair Hopping played a leading role in carving out moves from the left. Seven minutes from end, the Kiwis gained fourth penalty corner and Joseph Barth pumped it into the goal the equalizer.
On Saturday, India and New Zealand are in a must win situation against Pakistan and Malaysia respectively, while the host team needs only a draw to be in final.
Pakistan claimed its first win three matches when it got the better of Egypt by four goals to nil, thanks to a hat-trick by Shakeel Abbasi. Imran Muhammad was the other scorer.