Coach changed positions midway to catch Belgium off-guard

BHUBANESWAR:FOR the last couple of years, Mandeep Singh has been an integral part of India’s forward-line on the right flank.

However, midway through the last game against Belgium with India trailing by a goal, the coach made changes to the playing position of players, including bringing Mandeep to the left flank.

The move paid dividends as there was complete turnaround in possession in the second half with India grabbing most of it.

“In the second half, I changed my position to left flank and it worked very well. If you analyse our game — quarter-wise — you will see we had more ball possession in the last two quarters and our penetration into Belgium’s attacking area was more from the left side,” said Mandeep.

“The equaliser and the move that got us penalty corner (converted into penalty stroke) were initiated from the left side. The coach decided on the change in between the match and it put Belgium on a fix and we dominated,” added Mandeep, who has 125 international caps and 58 goals to his credit.

So, is he planning to switch to left flank in the coming days?

“That depends on the coach, in which position he wants me to play and with which combination. We have a certain plan against each team and we work accordingly. But I am comfortable playing in both the flanks.”

Apart from Mandeep, there were other players whose positions were switched. Simranjeet Singh, who is a midfielder, was first moved to the forward-line and then brought back to midfield during the tournament.

Akashdeep Singh, who is a forward, was shifted to midfield earlier in the tournament but was moved back to forward-line during the second half.

GAMBHIR NEARS TON AS DELHI REACH 190/1

NEW DELHI: With a small group of fans and his family — wife and daughters, egging him on from the sidelines and an artist outside the boundary rope painting his knock on the canvas, Gautam Gambhir turned on his vintage self in his farewell game as he made an unbeaten 92 to help Delhi move to 190 for one in reply to Andhra’s 390 in first innings at the end of the second day’s play.

The former India captain and opener started in blistering fashion with the pressure of future out of his way. He timed a couple of fours towards the leg-side and unleashed one through covers, moving to 24 off just 17 deliveries.

The left-hander then struggled a bit against the spinners, getting dropped on a couple of occasions, but made the most of the chances to take his side towards a position of strength from where they can control this game.

Together with Hiten Dalal (58), Gambhir added 108 for the first wicket and then continued the flow in the company of Dhruv Shorey, who was unbeaten on 39.

Earlier, former India under-19 player Ricky Bhui’s 187 and some valuable contributions from the lower order took Andhra to 390 in the first innings.