Pakistan vs. India: Sultan Azlan Shah Cup – Mid-Match Report
The two arch-rivals India and Pakistan are currently face-to-face in the battle field, playing for the 20th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup at the Sultan Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia.
The first half ended with a one-goal lead by India at 1-0.
As the match kicked off, the teams were found making equal exchanges and preferred to play at defence. The pace of the game was slow at the beginning with players making errors in executing passes to each other.
After ten minutes, the game paced up with Pakistan’s Rehan Butt rushing towards the Indian 25-metre with a strong ball possession. However, the ball possession witnessed many turnovers among both the teams.
With the 14th minute on the clock, India were awarded their first penalty corner. The original shot taken by Mahadik deflected, but an immediate rebound from Shivendra went into goal. However, umpire Roderick took opinion from Madden and disallowed
the goal.
However, India came back into action in the 21st minute and received another penalty corner. This was brilliantly converted into a score by Rupinder Pal Singh in the 23rd minute. The score was now 1-0 in favour of India.
Pakistan answered back and launched a counter-attack, resulting in the first penalty corner for the team in the 25th minute. However, Sohail Abbas failed to convert it into a goal when he sent the ball wide of the right goal post.
Pakistan could feel the pressure rising with the clock ticking towards half-time. However, they stood firm and continued to chase up the Indian lead. On the other hand, the Indian defensive line's resilience was on the show, disallowing their opponents to
break into their defensive half.
The battle continued with both the sides trying to get the better of each other but none of the two could cause a serious threat. India played the rest of the minutes with a defensive approach by relying on ball possession.
With two minutes to half-time, India was again on the go and had a shot at Pakistan's defensive circle, successfully earning another penalty corner. However, Rupinder’s attempt was very well saved by the Pakistan goalkeeper Imran.
The half closed with India leading 1-0 over Pakistan. The second half of the match is currently underway.
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