That's It! India had the last quarter completely under control as they added another to their standing tally to seal a clinical victory over Pakistan What has been India's weakness and area of inconsistency, turned out to be their biggest strength. The penalty corners. Harmanpreet Singh was in form and he was well supported by Jugraj Singh.
Goal! First field goal for India today. Mandeep Singh's strike finds a deflection of Akashdeep Singh's stick and finds the back of the net. India are dominating the game now.
Pakistan awarded a penalty corner, but unlike India, they fail to convert it. Scoreline still remains unchanged. Not the best injection. Third quarter comes to an end.
It seemed like India extended the lead to 4-0 but the umpire used his own referral and the goal was disallowed due to dangerous play for raised ball. Second time for India in the goal.
Goal! India convert their third penalty corner of the day. This time Jugraj Singh. His first goal against Pakistan and this goal almost takes the game away from the rivals.
India lead by two goals on half-time at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium. Pakistan started well but India turned the game around with circle entries and penalty corners.
The #MenInBlue asserts authority with a 2-0 lead as they head confidently into halftime!
🇮🇳 India 2-0 Pakistan 🇵🇰#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #HACT2023 #IndvsPak@CMO_Odisha @CMOTamilnadu @asia_hockey @FIH_Hockey @IndiaSports @IndiaSports @Media_SAI pic.twitter.com/Cz8jqYChJd— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) August 9, 2023
India were awarded back-to-back penalty corners but this time Pakistan somehow managed to defend the goal. India refereed for a penalty stroke but the Umpire awarded a long corner. Both teams lose their referral now.
Goal! Second penalty corner for India and second goal for India. Captain Harmanpreet Singh scores again. He shows why he is such a well-reputed drag-flicker and nails this one to extend India's lead.
Brave defending by Sumit as Pakistan build up consecutive threatening attacks. Karthi Selvam shown green card.
The second quarter has commenced and India look to extend their lead as the start the quarter with attacking intent.
India had a solid campaign in the Asian Champions Trophy 2023 till now and they have successfully made their place in the semi-final alongside Malaysia. Two spots are still up for grab from the round robin stages and ahead of that, India take on arch-rivals Pakistan in a high-voltage encounter at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday, August 9. India are yet to lose in the competition with three wins and one draw behind them and they will not want to let go of the momentum and enter the semifinal staying unbeaten in their last and final game of the Pool. Pakistan are in a spot of bother in terms of qualification and with Japan defeating China in the first match of the day, it has become a herculean task for Pakistan to make it through. Asian Champions Trophy Hockey 2023: India Aim To End Group Stage Run on High, Pakistan Eye Semifinal Spot.
Pakistan need a draw from this encounter to secure a qualification in the semifinal. If they lose, they will be knocked out of the competition as Japan has already defeated China. Both teams had a history of rivalry and had some really good encounters in the recent pasts. But India has taken some giant leaps including winning the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. They are now a much-experienced side and ranked higher in the World Rankings. India are No. 4 while Pakistan are at No. 16. We Need To Keep Our Defence Strong, Not Give Away Penalty Corners, Says Indian Captain Harmanpreet Singh Ahead of Asian Champions Trophy Hockey 2023 Clash Against Pakistan.
India are currently preparing for the Asian Games 2023 and ahead of the games in Hangzhou, this is their final stage for shining their skills out. India has lately faced a problem of scoring goals and specially converting penalty corners. Even in this competition, their penalty conversion has been inconsistent and much dependent on captain Harmanpreet Singh. India will be eager to have a permanent solution to this problem and have a dominating victory with authoritative play over Pakistan as they enter the semifinal of the competition.
India Squad: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Harmanpreet Singh (C), Amit Rohidas, Jarmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Jugraj Singh, Varun Kumar, Hardik Singh (VC), Shamsher Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Manpreet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Akashdeep Singh, S.Karthi, Gurjant Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Pawan, Mandeep Singh.
Pakistan Squad: Mohammad Umar Bhutta (captain), Rana Abdul Waheed Ashraf (vice-captain), Akmal Hussain, Abdullah Ishtiaq Khan, Mohammad Abdullah, Mohammad Sufyan Khan, Ehtisham Aslam, Osama Bashir, Aqeel Ahmed, Arshad Liaquat, Mohammad Imad, Abdul Hanan Shahid, Zakaria Hayat, Roman, Mohammad Murtaza Yaqub, Mohammad Shahzaib Khan, Afraz, Abdul Rahman
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