Muscat, October 21: India scored a facile 3-1 win over Pakistan in the Asian Champions Trophy hockey here on Saturday night (October 20). It was India's second consecutive win in the tournament after beating Oman 11-0 earlier.
However, the match start on a jarring note for India as Irfan Jr put Pakistan ahead in the first minute itself through a penalty. Indian goalkeeper Sreejesh stopped the drag flick but Irfan was at the right position to nudge the ball into the box.
The first quarter ended with Pakistan holding onto the lead and if they had little more sense of target would have put them even farther ahead of India. But India got the equaliser a bit against the tide of the play and it required a piece of magic by Manpreet Singh. Manpreet dodged three Pakistan defenders and beat the custodian with a neat push to make it 1-1.
Thereafter India took charge of the match with relentless sorties. Pakistan attack never looked in comfort blocking the waves of Indian attack but they failed to capitalise as both the teams went for half-time tied on 1-1.
FT| A commendable effort by the Indian Men's Hockey Team saw them beat arch-rivals Pakistan by a goal margin of 3-1, in spite of trailing in the first quarter in this blockbuster clash of the Hero Asian Champions Trophy 2018 on 20th October.#IndiaKaGame #HeroACT2018 #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/g7sq5mGmVX
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) October 20, 2018
India went into lead at the beginning of the third quarter when Akashdeep combined with Mandeep Singh to execute a perfect finish. Fed by a neat pass by Akashdeep, Mandeep finished it off with a brilliant tap-in.
In the 42nd minute, India extended the lead through the troika of Akashdeep, Lalit and Dilpreet Singh. Akashdeep ignited the counter attack set off Lalit with a good pass and the latter found Dilpreet near the box who made no error while converting the chance. India 3 Pakistan 1.
With a comfortable lead at their hand, India replaced experienced custodian P R Sreejesh with Krishan Pathak, an effort to give the youngster some game time. He got some time in the middle alright, but never was tested by the Pakistan forwards.
Such was India's possession and domination in the fourth quarter and they were up to the task of keeping the lead. The Indians also did not concede any late goals - a weakness that haunted them several times in the past as they rounded off a highly satisfactory assignment on the day.
On Sunday, India will face another tough opponent in Japan.