IPOH: A spirited Pakistan gave them a great chance to qualify into the final of Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament 2011 here Wednesday when they literally decimated arch-rivals India by 3-1.
Pakistan had lost four previous matches against India and were on the verge of losing fifth consecutive match as Rupinder Pal Singh gave his side lead in the 20th minute of the match.
India kept hold of the proceedings for the best part of the match but denied further goals by a strong defence and superb goalkeeping by Pakistani players.
With defence doing their job in style, Pakistani forwards regained confidence and started to attack more frequently on Indian goal. Their efforts paid off in the 49th minute when Umar Bhutta equalized with a beautiful field goal.
More was yet to come as the competition heated up. Pakistani forwards further upped the pressure and started finding gaps in Indian defence-line. Mohammad Imran then made no mistake in the 55th minute when he converted a penalty corner to give Pakistan lead for the first time in the match.
Tension further gripped the match but Pakistani forwards kept on making more moves which resulted in a penalty corner in 57th minutes of the match where the world’s top goal-scorer Sohail Abbas pushed the ball into the net to give Pakistan a comfortable lead over their arch-foes.
The last 13 minutes proved lethal as players from both sides made their best efforts to keep and snatch the advantage but Pakistani defenders kept their nerves and thwarted all attempts on Pakistani goal effectively.
This was Pakistan’s third victory in the tournament and now their chances to play in the final are quite alive as they defeated New Zealand and South Korea with an identical margin of 4-2 before losing to England and Australia by 3-2 and 5-1.
Pakistan now have nine points from five matches and have scored 19 goals while 13 goals have been scored against them. Australia and England are currently the other two top teams in the competition with 10 and nine points respectively.
Earlier in the day, Australia defeated South Korea by 4-2 while New Zealand edged past hosts Malaysia by 3-2.
Australia now have 10 points from four matches and are yet to be defeated in the tournament while England have nine points from four matches and their chances of qualifying in the final are sparkling the most at the moment.
Pakistan had lost four previous matches against India and were on the verge of losing fifth consecutive match as Rupinder Pal Singh gave his side lead in the 20th minute of the match.
India kept hold of the proceedings for the best part of the match but denied further goals by a strong defence and superb goalkeeping by Pakistani players.
With defence doing their job in style, Pakistani forwards regained confidence and started to attack more frequently on Indian goal. Their efforts paid off in the 49th minute when Umar Bhutta equalized with a beautiful field goal.
More was yet to come as the competition heated up. Pakistani forwards further upped the pressure and started finding gaps in Indian defence-line. Mohammad Imran then made no mistake in the 55th minute when he converted a penalty corner to give Pakistan lead for the first time in the match.
Tension further gripped the match but Pakistani forwards kept on making more moves which resulted in a penalty corner in 57th minutes of the match where the world’s top goal-scorer Sohail Abbas pushed the ball into the net to give Pakistan a comfortable lead over their arch-foes.
The last 13 minutes proved lethal as players from both sides made their best efforts to keep and snatch the advantage but Pakistani defenders kept their nerves and thwarted all attempts on Pakistani goal effectively.
This was Pakistan’s third victory in the tournament and now their chances to play in the final are quite alive as they defeated New Zealand and South Korea with an identical margin of 4-2 before losing to England and Australia by 3-2 and 5-1.
Pakistan now have nine points from five matches and have scored 19 goals while 13 goals have been scored against them. Australia and England are currently the other two top teams in the competition with 10 and nine points respectively.
Earlier in the day, Australia defeated South Korea by 4-2 while New Zealand edged past hosts Malaysia by 3-2.
