Preview: India will face arch-foes Pakistan in a battle that will determine the top placement in Pool A of the Asia Cup at the Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium in Dhaka on Sunday. The Sjoerd Marijne-coached India have so far stormed to the top of the pool with two easy wins over Japan (5-1) and hosts Bangladesh (7-0) in the first two matches. They will be aiming to continue to pump in more goals with their forwards in very good form. [caption id=“attachment_4145315” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The Indian team will look to carrying forward their sublime form. Twitter @TheHockeyIndia[/caption] On the other hand, Pakistan on Friday dropped two points after Japan held them 2-2. The record world champions had earlier drubbed Bangladesh 7-0. At the Hockey World League Semi Final in London, India had thrashed their neighbours 7-1 in the pool stage and followed it up with a 6-1 win in the classification match. However, for India captain Manpreet, resting on past laurels is not the way forward. “What happened in London is history for us now. We did well there but to repeat similar results we want to focus on our game,” Manpreet said. The clashes against Pakistan are of bigger proportions. But the midfielder said his team’s focus will be to top the pool table and to do that they want to make sure they come up with an overall performance against Pakistan. “For hockey lovers, India vs Pakistan is always a great game to watch. For us, we want to play them as any other opponent. We want to focus on our strategies against them and ensure we get on to a good start and not concede early goals,” the 25-year-old stated. While the Indian forward line of S.V. Sunil, Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh and Lalit Upadhyay has showcased excellent form, the team continues to work hard on penalty corner conversion. “I don’t think our penalty corner conversation is bad. Yes, we missed a few chances but you must also acknowledge that Bangladesh defence was good,” Manpreet pointed out. Meanwhile Pakistan skipper Muhammad Irfan insisted that the current team is different from the one in London and is hopeful of a good show on Sunday. “What happened in London was different. I am aware we lost two back-to-back matches against India but the present Pakistan team is different with a few of the senior players making a comeback,” he said. “Our management has changed and I am confident we will put up a good show where hockey lovers from across the world will enjoy the match,” expressed the 27-year-old. Pakistan are second on the table, while Japan have one point. The Japanese are expected to have an easy game against Bangladesh. Hence, Pakistan will aim to at least earn a draw against India in order to advance to the second round. “It is a must-win game for us otherwise we know it will come down to the match between Japan and Bangladesh and if Japan beat the hosts by a big margin then we are in trouble,” emphasised Irfan. He rued the chances his forwards missed against Japan but is hopeful they won’t make the same mistakes against India. “We watched the video of the match against Japan. There were easy chances that we missed but we don’t want to repeat the same mistake against India. They are a strong team with good strategies but we want to focus on our individual skills,” he added. With inputs from IANS
Highlights, India vs Pakistan, Hockey Match Result, Asia Cup 2017: Manpreet Singh and Co beat rivals 3-1
Catch the live score and updates of the Hockey Asia Cup 2017 match between India and Pakistan.
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That’s all from us. India cruise over their rivals, and both the teams qualify for Super 4. Japan and Bangladesh are the two teams that do not progress from Pool A. Hope you enjoyed the coverage. Stay tuned to Firstpost for all the lates news and updates.
Thank you for joining us. Sayonara!
That’s it from here.
India have beaten Pakistan 3-1; their fifth consecutive win over their neighbours.
What was heartening was that India played near perfectly in the 1st two quarters, especially while playing upfront. They were fast and should have got more goals.
But enough to take back from here before they start the Super 4 campaign.
The Asia Cup actually comes alive now with India, Pakistan, Korea and Malaysia in the last four.
As per the new format, the top four teams will play each other other than a semi-final.
There will be mixed reactions to India’s performance.
They let loose the initiative when Sardar made that error, flicking the ball onto a Pakistani stick.
And after that Pakistan had the momentum.
But India held on for a 3-1 win.
And that’s it.
India has beaten Pakistan 3-1.
It was a one way street in the 1st 2 quarters. Before Pakistan fought back with a goal.
The game sitting on the edge with a 3-1 score line is getting killed.
And now the decision comes. It’s a hit for Pakistan.
Confusion reigns again after India missed the 5th PC.
The ball had hit a Pakistan defender.
These video replays take too much time.
India need to come good with their penalty corners.
And the the video umpire gives the penalty corner to India.
Under 4 minutes now as India try and control the pace.
But surprisingly in these last few minutes too many errors from India.
And India get their third penalty corner of the match.
Pakistan playing well now after scoring their first goal.
It’s India who has lost momentum after the defensive error which gave Pakistan a goal.
India still rattled.
They need to hold and move the flanks to stretch the game and keep the ball away from Pakistan.
The momentum is with Pakistan.
Under 9 minutes left in the match as India lead 3-1.
Pakistan will come strong and they come with Muhammad Atiq but it’s Chikte who once again saves India.
Pakistan asking for another penalty corner – their 4th. It’s a referral from Pakistan.
Earlier, Pakistan scored off Shan Ali when he banged in off an error from Sardar who couldn’t clear in time.
India leading 3-1.
Just going back to the last four matches that India and Pakistan have played.
India have won 3-2, 3-2, 7-1 and 6-1.
At the moment they are leading 3-0 in Dhaka.
That’s the end of the 3rd quarter.
India are leading 3-0.
The coach would be happy that Harmanpreet flicked in off his 1st attempt in the match.
The defence needs to be careful of the Pakistan counters. Pressure builds when the opponent scores.
GOAL!!
The 3rd for India.
Harmanpreet on the target with a swinging flick.
India lead 3-0
GOAL!!
India have scored. Its a Ramandeep goal.
India lead 2-0
Rashid Mehmood’s flick is high and strong but the ball sails past the post.
Close encounter for India.
What a chance wasted by Gurjant!!
Sunil, Akashdeep and then the final pass for Gurjant but the tap is too weak.
India lead but wasting too many opportunities.
Pakistan is back to 11 on the field.
And that is India’s 1st penalty corner of the match.
Pakistan slowing the pace completely.
And they have a open chance. One to One and they fluff it.
Shan Ali only had Chikte in front but the Indian goalkeeper comes forward and saves it.
Teams back on the turf.
India might change tactics in the 3rd quarter. At the moment, they stretch themselves too much.
Time to seek a few penalty corner’s also for India.
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