7:59 pm: FULL-TIME! India 8 – 0 Japan. Dilpreet, SV Sunil and Vivek Sagar, Akashdeep score one goal apiece, while Rupinder and Mandeep scored two each to take India’s goal tally in the tournament to 51 and third cleansheet for Sreejesh as India stands top of Pool A.
Japan was expected to put India's defence under pressure for the first time in the tournament, but the relentless midfield and forward line of India has pegged Japan in its own area for majority of the match. The main positive for Japan will be goalkeeper Yusuke Takano saving five Indian corners. India will play its next match against Korea while Japan will face Hong Kong China on Sunday.
7:58 pm: India wins a long corner but Manpreet is unable to trap it properly.
7:56 pm: Japan will look to salvage at least one goal with less than 90 seconds left on the clock. Sunil asks for a referral after his scoop seem to have hit a defender's arm inside the area.
7:53 pm: MANDEEP SCORES! India 8-0. Dillpreet places a fierce shot at the top left corner which is saved by Takano, but Mandeep pounces on the loose ball to shoot it through the Japanese custodian's legs.
7:52 pm: Simranjeet tries a reverse stick from the top of the D after receiving Sardar's pass but the ball flies safely from the goal.
7:49 pm: Another corner for India after Dilpreet is fouled inside the area by Masaki Ohashi but Harmanpreet's shot is easy for Yusuke Takano to parry away to safety.
7:47 pm: Two back-to-back corners for India as Amit Rohidas is unable to convert on the first occasion due to good save from the goalkeeper and loses out on the second occasion due to a loose trapping of the pushout.
7:46 pm: Fifth penalty corner for India as Japan's defenders are unable to contain Sunil's trickery.
7:43 pm: Japan wins its first penalty corner of the match which is also the first corner conceded by India in this tournament. But Manpreet is out in a flash to intercept the drag flick and turns it into an Indian counter attack, but Yamashita stops Dilpreet in his tracks.
7:42 pm: That is the 50th goal for India in this tournament following 17-0, 26-0 wins against Indonesia and Hong Kong China in the first two games.
7:41 pm: VIVEK SCORES ANOTHER ONE! Dilpreet steals possession just outside the area and passes it to Vivek who finishes with aplomb to make it 7-0 for India.
7:39 pm: INDIA 6-0! Cracking finish by Akashdeep Singh. The Japanese goalkeeper deflects a shot from Manpreet and the ball falls to Akashdeep, who takes the reverse hit with perfection into the far top corner.
7:38 pm: Final quarter begins!
7:36 pm: End of third quarter! India 5-0 Japan
7:34 pm: Rupinder takes the corner and shoots into the centre this time, but a brilliant save by the goalkeeper keeps it out of the net.
7:32 pm: Lalit and Chingelsena have their shots blocked the defenders as Lalit wins India its fifth penalty corner. The Japanese are protesting but it had already lost its lone referral.
7:30 pm: Japan is looking desperate now trying to come out from the back but upfield press applied by the Indians is making it difficult for Japan to enter the Indian D area.
7:26 pm: RUPINDER MAKES IT 5-0! The video umpire stays with the field umpire's decision and Rupinder steps up to smash it into the right top corner.
7:25 pm: Penalty stroke for India! Japan goes for a referral after the umpire awards India a penalty stroke after Masaki Ohashi has a stick check on Mandeep inside the area.
7:23 pm: Indians win a free hit after Japan makes another attack int other area but loses the possession due to a dangerous shot in the area.
7:21 PM: Sreejesh makes a vital save as Suguru Hoshi unleashes a reverse stick from the edge of the area.
7:17 pm: MANDEEP MAKES IT FOUR! Amit Rohidas is left with acres of space on the right side as he puts Mandeep through in the middle who puts it behind the goalkeeper. India 4-0!
7:17 pm: Another penalty corner for India but the push out by Sardar is not trapped well and another opportunity goes in vain.
7:16 pm: India wins a penalty corner in the first ten seconds of the second half but Japanese goalkeeper saves Harmanpreet's shot.
7:15 pm: Second-half starts!
7: 06 pm: HALF-TIME! India 3 – 0 Japan There goes the hooter bringing an end to an entertaining first thirty minutes where India looked razor sharp in the first quarter but gave away the ball easily and committed unforced errors inside the area in the second fifteen minutes, allowing Japan to go on a counter.
7:04 pm: Brilliant run by SV Sunil as he dances past an entire Japan defence by himself, but narrowly misses the goal.
7:03 pm: Varun passes the ball into an empty space which Dilpreet could not have possibly picked out.
6:59 pm: Japan is slowly growing into the game as it moves the ball upfield, forcing the Indian midfield to fall back.
6:58 pm: Manpreet puts in a successful tackle in the centre to thwart a Japanese counter attack after Lalit loses possession on the edge of the Japan's area.
6:56 pm: Sunil turns two defenders inside out, but is blocked by next two markers inside the area.
6:54 pm: Japan is chasing shadows now as Chingelsena shoots from close range but the goalkeeper makes a fine save to deny India its fourth goal.
6:52 pm: GOAL RUPINDER! India get it right this time from the penalty corner as Rupinder places his drag flick into the roof of the net. India 3-0!
6:50 pm: Japan enter Indian penalty area as Koji Yamasaki's shot is saved at the near post by Sreejesh. But India launches a counter attack through SV Sunil and reaches Lalit Upadhyay inside the area but the Japanese defence manages to repel the attack.
6:49 pm: Second-quarter starts! Japan looked threatening on couple of occasions on counter attack but has not been able to test the Indian defence properly.
6:47 pm: End of first quarter! India 2 - 0 Japan
6: 46 pm: India wins its first penalty corner of the match but Rupinder Pal Singh waits for a moment to take the shot which allows the Japanese runner to block it easily. A wasted opportunity.
6:42 pm: INDIA 2-0! Dilpreet scores! What a finish by the teenager. After picking out dissecting pass from the left, Dilpreet moves a step towards to his left and places his reverse shot at the far end and out of the reach of the goalkeeper.
6:41 pm: India go on the offensive again as Lalit Upadhyay and Dilpreet have their shots blocked from close range.
6:39 pm: Japan make its first attack when Kento Tanaka makes a solo from the centre and Sreejesh comes forward to block the shot.
6:27 pm: Hello and welcome to the live commentary of the men's hockey Pool A match between India and Japan. The players walk to the pitch for the national anthems.
6:28 pm: Fifth-ranked India will face their first stern test at the Asian Games in World No. 16 Japan. Japan, alongside India and Republic of Korea, is undefeated in the Pool A beating a hapless Sri Lanka 11-0 in its first match and then beating host Indonesia 3-1 in the second match.
6:30 pm: India, on the other hand, registered an emphatic 17-0 in its opening match against unranked Indonesia and then put Hong Kong China to the sword by pumping 26 goals without a reply, which also broke an 86 year old world record for win by the highest margin, previously held by the Indians for beating USA 24-1 in 1932 Olympics.
6:30 pm: First-quarter starts!
6:32 pm: India waste no time and enter the penalty area in the first 10 second through Dilpreet who gets a deflection on Surendra Kumar's pass from the right but narrowly misses the goal.
6:34 pm: After the initial scare by the Indian forwards, Japan settle down pressing the Indian midfielder to regain possession.
6:37 pm: GOAL INDIA! Harmanpreet puts Simranjeet through to the left and the forward shows superb skill to take reverse shot from a tight angle which is deflected into the net by Sunil.
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