It will be a tough task for India when they take on European champions the Holland in the final of the Punjab Gold Cup hockey tournament.

The Dutch team has been in a rampaging form in this tournament and has also registered a shocking win over World and Olympic champions Germany. In the last group match they thrashed their arch-rivals Germany 7-1.
The Netherlands have started feeling at home and that could be a matter of concern for India during the clash on Monday.

“My boys took time to get used to Indian conditions. Both the drawn ties with India were hard-fought and a magnificent learning experience for us. The win against Germany showed that the boys were in good form,” Dutch coach Michel Heuvel said on the eve of the final.

India, which made a good start to the tournament, looked out of focus in their last two league games - losing 2-4 to Germany on Friday and then just managing to scrape past New Zealand, 3-2 on Saturday. Against the Kiwis, the Indian defence was fully exposed as they conceded eight penalty corners to the opponents. It is another matter that the Black Sticks could not convert any of them. At the same time, the Indian attack seemed so weak that it was unable to secure even one penalty corner in the entire game.

India had held the Netherlands to two draws in this tournament, 4-4 in the first match and 2-2 in the second one. But they need to be on their toes on Monday.