India outplayed Pakistan in all departments of the game, winning the match 5-1 in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, Tuesday. SV Sunil scored two goals for India while Manpreet Singh, Talwinder Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh scored one goal each.
It was a comprehensive victory for India, who dominated the game right from the start, with Manpreet's strike in the fourth minute. After which it was all one-way traffic. India's offense looked good during the game, but their defenders looked solid as well when Pakistan threatened to come back into the match.
With this massive victory, India have moved into second place in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup standings. India face New Zealand, Wednesday.
60' The hooter goes. India emerge victorious, defeat Pakistan 5-1.
59' Ball is fired hard into the Pakistan danger area and Ramandeep scores from close range, but the goal is disalllowed for some reason. Ramandeep protests, but the umpire decision is firm. DISALLOWED.
56' India have been all over Pakistan in the fourth quarter. They have had four shots on goal so far.
55' Manpreet earns a penalty stroke for India, and Rupinder misses it. He hits it straight to the goalie. Poor strike.
54' Sardar pushes the ball, and Rupinder coverts the PC. Superb drag-flick from the defender. India lead 5-1.
53' India are still not done. They are pressing Pakistan in search for the fifth goal. Sardar dribbles one and passes it to Sunil, who gets past a defender, earns a penalty corner.
50' India score, take 4-1 lead. Talwinder Singh finishes from close range. The game must be in India's bag now.
49' Brilliant strike from Sardar, hard and low, but Butt saves it brilliantly to keep Pakistan hopes alive.
47' Surinder clears the ball away after Pakistan attack from the left flank, and again from the left, but the ball is not controlled by any Pakistan player.
46' It is now or never for Pakistan. They need to score goals. They are two goals down while India just need to hold on to their lead.
Fourth quarter starts
45' Pakistan players are playing the ball in their own half, as they fail to play the ball through the middle. The hooter goes. Third quarter ends. India lead 3-1.
43' Pakistan players are still searcing for their second goal to come back into the game as they come from the left flank, but India's defence stands firm once again. India's defence has been good so far.
41' Brilliant play by India, which is finished off by a diving Sunil into the back of the net. It was a complete team goal.
SV Sunil GOAL. India lead 3-1
39' Manpreet runs to stop the drag-flicker, and gets his body on the line, and stops the ball, but is injured. Taken off the field.
38' Pakistan earns a penalty corner.
36' India finally makes a move in Pakistan's danger area, but loses the ball, rather too easily. India are not able to hold the ball for long enough to create pressure.
35' India's strategy has been - thread those long and hard ball to the forwards, who need to run and make use of such passes.
34' It is all one way traffic, with India defending. Harmanpreet makes a horrible pass to a Pakistan player, concedes another turnover.
33' Pakistan seems be pumped up in the third quarter. They are attacking India, and enjoying possession. They have 10 players in India's half, explains their dominance.
31' Pakistan play a long aerial ball to their forwards to no avail, lands in the vacant area.
End of first half. India lead 2-1. India looked good overall, but Pakistan played well in the closing stages of the half, creating chances.
29' Ball is played too high, India receive a free hit inside their own half. India have conceded too many turnovers so far in the match, much more than Pakistan, which is a cause of concern.
25' India have enjoyed 52% possession so far, but Pakistan are threatening India's goal.
Ramandeep receives a green card.
23' Pakistan's Arslan dribbles past the India defenders and gets a free hit, but does not make much out of it. Now, Pakistan are playing better hockey. India defence needs to be firm.
22' A rare Pakistan attack, which is easily defended by India, whose player runs once again with the ball from the right flank, but loses it in the danger area.
21' India are using their flanks beautifully, and building the game from the back.
20' India players are playing a pressing game and pressurising the Pakistan players when they have the ball. It is all India at the moment.
18' Another brilliant ball from Manpreet to Danish, who earns India a penalty corner. Brilliant save from goalie Imran Butt.
17' Muhammad Rizwan is injured, taken off the field.
16' India once again start well, playing an attacking game. Meanwhile, Pakistan player is on the floor, injured.
First quarter ends. India 2 Pakistan 1
13' India are trying to play a fast game whenever they get a chance to move ahead with the ball, but is stopped by Pakistan defenders.
11' India on the counter again, but there is no one to receive Nikkin' ball.
10' India applying pressure, and Sunil deflects a goal home after Manpreet fired the ball hard into the danger area. India 2 Pakistan 1
9' India surge ahead and gets a foul, which is played in the danger area, to no avail.
8' Pakistan are looking sharp now. They seem to have become a confident side after the goal.
7' Pakistan's first quality move results in a penalty corner. Another penalty corner as the ball hits Rupinder Pal's foot. Muhammad Irfan drills the ball low to the right of goalie for a quality goal. Pakistan draw level. 1-1.
5' India, once again attack from the left flank, but the goal goes out of control. India have been a better team in the match so far. Pakistan are yet to make any offensive move.
3' India have enjoyed lion's share of possession so far, but are yet to make any surging move ahead. India take lead with a brilliant strike from Manpreet Singh.
1' The match is the underway. The game is mostly played in India's half, as the defenders are waiting for players upfront to make a smart move.
3:35: The national anthems of both the nations are played out in the middle. We are just a minute away from the game.
3:25: Both teams comprise of some brilliant individual players, but they need to gel as a unit in Ipoh. Here is a look at India and Pakistan squad for the crucial match.
Team news: India: Harjot Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Harmanpreet Singh Jasjit Singh Kular, Kothajit Singh, Surender Singh, Chinglensena Singh, Manpreet Singh, Sardar Singh (c), SK Uthappa, Mandeep Singh, SV Sunil, Ramandeep Singh, Nikkin Thimmaiah, Talwinder Singh, Akash Anil Chikte, Danish Mujtaba, Harjeet Singh
Pakistan: Imran Butt, Muhammad Irfan (c), Muhammad Imran, Syed Kashif Shah, Fareed Ahmed, Muhammad Rizwan junior, Rashid Mahmood, Muhammad Waqas Sharif, Shafqat Rasool, Muhammad Umar Bhutta, Muhammad Dilber, Muhammad Rizwan Senior, Muhammad Azfar Yaqoob, Mazhar Abbas,Muhammad Toseeq Arshad, Ammad Shakeel Butt, Muhammad Kashif Ali, Ali Shan
3:20: It is time for the respective captains, Sardar Singh (India) and Muhammad Irfan (Pakistan) to lead the team from the front, and emerge victorious in the mammoth battle. Pakistan are going to mark Sardar tightly, but the India star needs to find his way, weave his magic through and make those threading passes to Ramandeep and SV Sunil, who can use their pace to exploit Pakistan's defence.
3:10 p.m: Both India and Pakistan's performances in the competition have been below par. Though India might have defeated Japan and Canada, they are yet to hit top gear. India's loss against Australia in the competition reflected India's weak defence, which needs to be solid against Pakistan.
Pakistan, on the other hand, have lost to New Zealand and Australia, but defeated Canada. They have plenty of talented players in their squad, and if their players shine, India will have their task cut out.
Hello everyone. Welcome to International Business Times, India live blog coverage of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2016. This is Ashim Sunam here, and I will provide you with all the updates from the mega contest between India and Pakistan.
It is the mother of all hockey matches, and a game, which can help both India and Pakistan climb up the table in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
Here is India captain, Sardar Singh, asking fans to support his team for the crucial encounter.
We are 40 minutes away from the start.
