India found themselves at the receiving end of star penalty corner specialist Gonzalo Peillat's hat-trick as they lost 2-3 against Olympic champions Argentina in their opening match of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament at Ipoh in Malaysia on Saturday.
All the goals of the rain-affected match came off penalty corners with Peillat sounding the board in the 13th, 24th and 33rd minutes while Amit Rohidas (26th, 31st) scored for India.
Play was stopped for nearly an hour in the fourth quarter due to heavy rain and thunderstorm.
India dominated the first quarter as their young forwards pushed the Argentine defenders to create space in the striking circle. Talwinder Singh and debut player Sumit Kumar were impressive as they attempted to beat Argentina's experienced goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi early in the match.
India made as many as four circle entries against Argentina’s two and it was Sumit Kumar's burst into the baseline that gave India hopes of a first goal within the first ten minutes of the match, but Argentine defenders were defiant.
Minutes later, a long ball assist to Talwinder was picked up well but he could not quite make an effective connect to put it past Vivaldi.
Though India did well to limit Argentina’s shots on goal, an infringement in the Indian circle helped Isidoro Ibarra earn Argentina the first penalty corner of the match.
Peillat's first attempt was blocked by first runner Amit Rohidas. But the second penalty corner was superbly converted by Peillat in the 13th minute to give Argentina a 1-0 lead.
It was the penalty corner that Argentina rallied on and it did not help India's cause when they conceded another penalty corner in the 24th minute. The mistake was punished by Peillat yet again as he broke no sweat to convert. A diving Indian goalkeeper Krishan Pathak could do little to save the powerful drag-flick.
Two minutes later, India won three back-to-back penalty corners. After the first two attempts had to be re-taken due to infringement, India were third-time lucky as Amit Rohidas improvised on Ramandeep Singh's injection, keeping low, finding the left pocket of the net.
The 26th minute goal narrowed the deficit to 1-2 and India did well in the following minutes to keep Argentine forwards in the hunt. Though they forced India to make an error in the circle, winning yet another corner in the 27th minute, the attempt was brilliantly blocked by India's first runner.
Coming into the third quarter, India struck early as forward Sumit Kumar was aggressive at the baseline to fetch India their fourth PC of the match. Previous goal scorer Amit Rohidas made no mistake as he converted in similar fashion giving India the much needed 2-2 equaliser in the 31st minute.
It was all about penalty corners for Argentina as Peillat struck his third goal in the 34th minute, taking Argentina's lead to 3-2.
With rain trickling down in the fourth quarter, the match was stopped for nearly an hour. After resumption, India fought till the final hooter but their desperate attempts to score went in vain with Argentina keeping the lead.
(Hey there, lady! What makes you laugh? Do you laugh at sexism, patriarchy, and misogyny? Do 'sanskaari' stereotypes crack you up? This Women's Day, join The Quint's Ab Laugh Naari campaign. Pick up that beer, say cheers, and send us photographs or videos of you laughing out loud at buriladki@thequint.com.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)