India trounce Pakistan in Asian Champions Trophy as Harmanpreet Singh scores twice

India won the Asian Champions Trophy Hockey 2021 match against arch-rivals Pakistan 3-1 in Dhaka on Friday. India dominated most of the first half of the game after taking an early lead, courtesy a sixth-minute goal by Harmanpreet Singh. Harmanpreet converted a penalty corner and after dictating the game for the next two quarters, Akashdeep Singh doubled India’s lead to 2-0 in the third quarter. He found the goal at the 26th minute. Pakistan was quick to reply with their first goal of the match in the 28th minute. Meanwhile, Harmanpreet further took India’s lead to 3-1 by scoring in another penalty corner in the fourth quarter. 

India survive penalty corner shout in the fourth quarter

Junaid Manzoor pulled back a goal just before the third quarter concluded and gave much-needed hope to the team. Earlier, Pakistan managed to get inside the Indian half quite a couple of times in the second quarter but the Indian defenders displayed stellar performance and gave the Pakistan attackers minimal chance to equalize the score. Going in the fourth quarter, India survived a penalty corner shout as the referee initially pointed to the spot, but the decision was overturned after a successful review by skipper Manpreet Singh rescued the Men in Blue.

Pakistan fail to convert penalty corners twice-

Pakistan earned their first penalty corner of the tournament with 8:34 minutes left in the clock in the third quarter, but they lost the opportunity as the Indian defense stood up. However, Harmanpreet Singh scored his second goal with seven and a half minutes left in the clock by a penalty corner and increased India's lead to 3-1. India kept possession of the ball for the maximum amount of time and dictated play as Pakistan’s defense looked to be on their feet. Pakistan got another penalty corner chance with seven minutes on the clock but Suraj Karkera yet again came up with his defense.

India's campaign so far-

Following, some brilliant defense by players like Akashdeep Singh, India won the much-anticipated match, 2-1 after defeating Bangladesh 9-0 in their last encounter. India opened the tournament on a disappointing note, as their match against Korea ended in a 2-2 draw. However, Manpreet Singh’s men made a comeback during India vs Bangladesh clash as Dilpreet Singh returned with a brilliant hat-trick while Jarmanpreet Singh scored a glorious goal from the penalty corners. Meanwhile, Lalit Upadhayay, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Mor also contributed to India’s credit against the hosts.

(Twitter Image: @TheHockeyIndia)