India and Pakistan played out a goalless first half in their Super 4 game of the Asia Cup hockey in Dhaka on Saturday. But Satbir Singh scored in the 39th minute to put India ahead. Pakistan face a must-win Super-4 game against India in the 10th men’s Asia Cup hockey championship in Dhaka today. India only need a draw to qualify for Sunday’s final. The Manpreet Singh-led team has been in good form and barring a draw against South Korea, the Indians have scored frequently to keep a healthy goal difference. But an India vs Pakistan contest is more than an ordinary contest. The emotions of hockey lovers will be high and the atmosphere at Dhaka’s Moulana Bhashani Hockey Stadium will be charged for sure. Get live score of India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup hockey here. (LIVE STREAMING INFO)
19:59 hrs IST: Ten minutes of action left in this match
19:58 hrs IST: They almost scored another one!
19:57 hrs IST: This is a different India that has turned out for the last quarter! This is some attacking display of hockey
19:56 hrs IST: Grounded flick and brilliant save by the Pakistani goalkeeper
19:55 hrs IST: Another PC for India
19:54 hrs IST: India on the attack now!
19:52 hrs IST: What a start for India! They almost scored another one!
19:51 hrs IST: The last quarter has begun
19:49 hrs IST: End of third quarter and India lead 1-0
19:48 hrs IST: Replays show that Satbir Singh put the ball inside the goal
19:46 hrs IST: Wasted the chance! However, main thing is that India are 1-0 ahead
19:45 hrs IST: PC for India!
19:44 hrs IST: Sardar Singh carried the ball brilliantly and passed it on to Gurjant, who made a dive to push the ball in!
19:42 hrs IST: Gurjant Singh scores in the 39th minute!
19:35 hrs IST: The pace is slowly increasing in this game
19:32 hrs IST: And we are back with the third quarter
19:25 hrs IST: Take a breather. We will be back in some time
19:22 hrs IST: And that is half time and the score reads 0-0!
19:20 hrs IST: OOOOH! Harmanpreet’s PC hit the cross bar! This is the closest chance from either side in this match!
19:19 hrs IST: The Indian team is under pressure here, looking at the way they are giving away opportunities
19:17 hrs IST: And they waste it yet again!
19:16 hrs IST: Another PC for Pakistan!
19:15 hrs IST: The Indian defence has faltered quite often today but Pakistan have been quite solid till now
19:14 hrs IST: Both the teams are just wasting away their chances, not clinging on to them
19:12 hrs IST: Significantly India are still unbeaten in this tournament
19:11 hrs IST: Wow! Still goal-less
19:08 hrs IST: Too much of dribbling! The passing needs to increase!
19:05 hrs IST: The second quarter has begun
19:02 hrs IST: Hooter! Goalless at the end of the first quarter.
19:01 hrs IST: Harmanpreet wastes the chance! Totally wastes it!
19:00 hrs IST: First PC for India, finally!
18:59 hrs IST: And Akash Chikte saves it again!
18:58 hrs IST: Third PC for PAK!
18:57 hrs IST: Chikte saves! The Indian goalie dives to his right and pushes the ball out with the stick in his hand
18:55 hrs IST: Another PC for Pakistan! This is not good defending from India
18:54 hrs IST: Oh that was a good pass forward for India but Pakistan held on
18:53 hrs IST: India maintain possession but are not being able to create the chances
18:50 hrs IST: INDIA save it! That ball almost went in! Pakistan used the variation but were too slow on the take
18:49 hrs IST: Penalty corner for Pakistan!
18:48 hrs IST: Oh! That was quite a run from the Pakistani forwards! But India managed to push the ball outside the D
18:46 hrs IST: Former captain Sardar Singh is quite active today in the midfield
18:45 hrs IST: Quite a slow game this. The pace is lacking and India, too, are playing defensively
18:44 hrs IST: It is quite windy in Dhaka! Who will the wind back?
18:41 hrs IST: PC for India! On no! The referral has gone against them. Status quo
18:40 hrs IST: The match has begun!
18:38 hrs IST: The national anthems have been sung and the match is about to begin!
18:37 hrs IST: The teams are walking out on to the field
18:36 hrs IST: It is 25 degree Celcius and quite windy in Dhaka right now
18:34 hrs IST: Akash Chikte will open as the India keeper today
18:30 hrs IST: The Indian XI has been announced and Manpreet Singh will once again be leading the side
18:27 hrs IST: Apart from India and Pakistan, South Korea is the only team to have won the Asia Cup and they have won it four times, more than anybody else. They are also the defending champions
18:21 hrs IST: Pakistan, on the other hand, have won the event thrice in the past
18:16 hrs IST: India have won the Asia Cup twice in the past
18:11 hrs IST: India had defeated Pakistan 3-1 in the pool stages
18:06 hrs IST: The South Korea vs Malaysia game will be played at 9 pm IST
18:04 hrs IST: India currently top the Super 4 stage with 4 points and are virtually in the final but we will see what happens after the result of the two matches today
18:00 hrs IST: The other Super 4 match is between defending champions South Korea and Malaysia, which too has been delayed due to inclement weather
17:57 hrs IST: The match got delayed due to rain and is likely to start around 1830 hours IST
17:53 hrs IST: Hello and welcome to the live blog of the Asia Cup Super 4 match between India and Pakistan
Pakistan have suffered from poor finishing in international tournaments. A leaky defence has only made matters worse. The green shirts will not only need full points against India but win by at least three goals to enter Sunday’s final.
“But it is going to be easier said than done because I am not happy with how our forwards have performed in this tournament. We have missed many opportunities in the circle and against India we cannot misfire,” said Pakistan coach Farhat Khan. India had beaten Pakistan 3-1 in a group match on October 15.
This is the fourth India vs Pakistan encounter in 2017. Manpreet Singh’s young team has not been beaten even once. Although India have had a change of head coaches — Roelant Oltmans made way for Sjoerd Marijne in September — the team has played good attacking hockey after finishing sixth in the Hockey World League semis in London in June.
Source: HindustanTimes