India was playing Bangladesh on Wednesday, but the focus was already on their next match against Pakistan. All eyes in the hockey competition are on the game this Saturday when the two arch-rivals clash at the Aoti Sports Complex's turf.

There was hardly any reference about the 9-0 win over Bangladesh as the post-match interaction with the Indian hockey team members was dominated by the talk of their upcoming game.

The players' thoughts were also on planning for the big game. Star of the day with four goals against his name, Sandeep Singh said: "We are performing very well, but this is a different Pakistan team. They have brought back some experienced players like drag-flick specialist Sohail Abbas. It will be a tough contest."

India has won their last two big games against the Pakistanis, but skipper Rajpal Singh said not to read too much into it.

"Though we beat Pakistan in the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games, the next match is a new game and both teams will start with a 0-0 score line." Singh said.

About Abbas, Rajpal said: "His presence will make a difference for Pakistan."

The battle within the battle will be between penalty corner exponents, Sandeep vs Abbas. "The worth of our penalty corner conversion will be known against tougher teams. In these matches, the goalkeeper and the other defenders did not put up any resistance against our PC experts," said coach Jose Brasa.

- Daily News & Analysis (India)