Kuantan, Malaysia, 23 October 2016: India beat Pakistan 3-2 in their encounter at the Asian Champions Trophy today.
The match began with a commemoration for on-field umpire Murray Grime, who was officiating his 200th international game today.
Pakistan were the ones quicker off the start and earned themselves a PC within the opening minutes of the game. PR Sreejesh was up to the challenge though, stopping Muhammad Aleem Bilal’s improvised flick and then diving to push away the attempt off the rebound.
India slowly started to exert their influence on the game, after seeing out Pakistan’s quick start and the two best attempts of the quarter fell to Ramandeep Singh and Talwinder Singh, both of them failing to hit the target. Talwinder’s attempt was created out of a great bit of skill, as he turned away from Pakistan’s defence at the top of the circle to unleash a reverse hit that sailed over the crossbar.
India picked up their pace even further in the second quarter and were in control for large parts, pushing Pakistan deeper into their half. The opening goal came in fortuitous circumstances, via Pardeep Mor in the 22nd minute. Mor picked up a loose ball outside Pakistan’s circle and drove towards the corner, before crossing it in. Ramandeep had positioned himself right in Imran Butt’s eye-line forcing him into a mistake which saw the ball creep in under his pad and into the goal to give India the lead.
It was a lead that India held on to as they went into half time.
Pakistan hit back immediately after the restart though, drawing level via a goal scored by Muhammad Rizwan Sr. The goal turned the quarter into an all action end to end encounter, as both teams picked up unbelievable pace in an attempt to take the lead. It was Pakistan that wrested it back, in the 39th minute via a goal by Muhammad Irfan Jr.
India didn’t let that drop their level though and kept attacking and creating circle penetrations constantly. There was a just reward with two minutes left in the quarter, as India won their first PC of the game. Rupinder Pal Singh made no mistake, his drag flick beating the goalkeeper and the man at the post to draw India level.
Within a minute they had the lead. A defensive mistake allowed Talwinder to rush on to a loose ball inside the circle and he took it perfectly, before passing into the path of Ramandeep Singh, who deflected it perfectly past Imran Butt to score. The two teams went into the final break, with India leading 3-2.
India were relentless in the final quarter, not letting the pace drop and in the opening minutes of the final quarter forced several penetrations in the Pakistan circle. In the 48th minute, it looked like India had doubled the lead, Affan Yousuf unleashing a superb reverse hit from five yards at goal. Unbelievably though Imran Butt was at hand, diving to save and keep his team in the game.
In the final minutes, India played cautiously and dropped back in numbers not allowing Pakistan space in the final third as they saw off the game for a brilliant victory that gave them three points and took them to the top of the table.
India will be in action against China on October 25, 2016. The match will be shown LIVE on Star Sports 4/HD4 & Hotstar at 6:00 PM IST.