Sardar Singh-led Indian hockey team defeated Pakistan 5-1 in the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament. Men in Blue dominated throughout the match and Pakistani players failed to put any fight in what was expected to be an intense encounter.
Final quarter:
1′ India are in total control of the game and they should win this unless they do something stupid.
4′ GOAL! Talwinder Singh scored another goal in the fourth minute of the final quarter. Pakistan need a miracle to save this match from here.
9′ Penalty corner for India. Indian captain Sardar Singh created an opportunity, passed the ball to Sunil, who made sure India get a penalty corner.
9′ Rupinder Pal Singh put his name on the goal-scorer’s list with a brilliant goal.
10′ India now have a 5-1 lead and they players are just passing the ball to one another.
10′ India got a penalty shot after one of the players was brought down. Rupinder Pal Singh failed to score though.
11′ India are keeping the ball in their half and surprisingly, there aren’t many attempts being made by the Pakistani players to snatch the ball from the Men in Blue.
13′ Even though Ramandeep Singh scored another goal, the umpire said it would not count.
15′ That’s it! Men in Blue have sealed the match 5-1!
Third quarter:
1′ Pakistan took the free-hit but could not reach the Indian side of the goal post.
5′ Despite several attempts from players of both teams, none of the players could create a big goal-scoring opportunity.
9′ Penalty corner! Pakistan got an opportunity to equalise. They couldn’t capitalise on this one as the bal riocheted off one of the defenders.
11′ GOAL! SV Sunil scored another goal. Nikhil gave him a brilliant pass and India’s vice-captain didn’t let go of the opportunity.
14′ Pakistan are slowly crumbling under pressure as the Men in Blue are taking more possession at the moment.
15′ India continue their good show, now have a 2-goal lead. They need not get complacent and play with equal vigour in the final quarter.
Second quarter:
2′ Rizwan senior was on the ground after one of the shots hit him on the leg.
3′ India almost scored another goal after Danish Mujtaba’s deflection missed the goal post by inches. India were given a penalty corner but they failed to convert it.
5′ Chinglensena Singh made some good moves in the fifth minute, but no more damage was done.
8′ India created yet another attacking move but failed to breach the Pakistani defenders.
11′ In the 11th minute of the game, a yellow card was given to Ramandeep Singh.
13′ The possession percentage is in India’s favour, not by a big margin though.
14′ Rizwan got a free hit but no damage done to India.
15′ Pakistan have got a free hit, but they will be able to take it only in the third quarter.
First-quarter:
1′: The proceedings have kicked off!
4′: GOAL! It didn’t take India long to strike a goal. They made a strong attacking move in the fourth minute of the game and Manpreet Singh has his first goal as early as in the fourth minute!
7′ Compared to their neighbours, India have made a positive start so far.
8′ GOAL! Pakistan got the first penalty corner of the match. The first direct shot at goal was stopped by Rupinder Pal Singh. But Pakistan hit the equaliser soon after skipper Muhammad Irfan converted another penalty corner into a goal.
10’GOAL! India have bounced back to take the lead. SV Sunil got a deflection and Men in Blue now have a 2-1 lead.
12′ India were very close to taking a 3-1 lead with another attacking move!
15′ It’s the end of the first quarter. Men in Blue clearly dominated the first 15 minutes. But it’s just the start of the match and Sardar Singh should expect his opponents to come back hard at them in the second quarter.
Last time these two teams met in the tournament, India emerged victorious 4-2.
Both the teams have not performed upto their potential in the tournament, but against each other, they are known to bring out their A game.
Sardar Singh-led India have a psychological advantage against Pakistan, as they have won 8 of the 14 matches they have played against their neighbours in the tournament.
India have won the tournament on five occasions.
Since 1947, the two teams have locked horns against each other on 164 occasions, in which Pakistan won 82 matches, India won 52 matches, while 30 matches ended in draw.
