Oltmans' boys patchy against Great Britain in 2-2 draw during opener
India players celebrate their opening goal against Great Britain at Ipoh, Malaysia on Saturday
Neither was it exhilarating nor even exciting. It desperately needed a penalty corner with 56 seconds to go to create some ripple in a match where the actual star was the rain that held up the opening match of the 26th Sultan Azlan Shah hockey tournament.
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It would have been a dampener for the Indian team if Great Britain's captain Phil Roper had ripped in the only penalty corner they had in the entire match with less than a minute on the clock.
The final score line of 2-2 here may give it a semblance of a thriller but the actual story was that both teams scored off each other's defensive errors, rather than some breathtaking moves or set pieces.
Possession was India's and going by the percentage of the territory that the five-time champions enjoyed, India might argue that the match should have gone their way.
Lightning delays play
After a nearly two-hour long wait, with the organisers being apprehensive about the lightning factor in Ipoh, the sluggishness in the first quarter was understandable.
It was good to see Sardar in the defence and also moving up when gaps were created. He shouldered a decent bit of the workload and Roelant Oltmans seemed happy.
"I think he can play in the defence and also in the forward line. Let's see how he shapes up in the remaining matches," said the coach.
India draw first blood
India opened up the scoring sheets in the 19th minute when they earned their first penalty corner.
Oltmans admitted there were errors in the match. But even he knows it's early and a momentum needs to be built. "The wait sometimes gets to you (rains)," he said. "I am happy with the result today. But we should be ready for New Zealand on Sunday." Three points against the Kiwis should steady the ship and keep them in the hunt for a spot in the final.
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