ASIA CUP: India thumps hapless Malaysia 6-2

Goals from Akashdeep Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Uthappa, Gurjant Singh, S.V. Sunil and Sardar Singh help India down a listless Malaysia.

Published : Oct 19, 2017 17:05 IST

Midfielder Manpreet Singh will be leading the 18-member Indian men’s hockey team at the Hero Asia Cup.

 

What a win for India. After a lull outing against South Korea, the team is back on the aggressive and confident mode as it thumps Malaysia 6-2 in an Super 4s contest. A day's rest before India meets Pakistan again.

India is almost through to the final of the Asia Cup. It sits at the top of the Super 4s table. India needs a draw against Pakistan and with a superior goal difference of four, India finds itself in a healthy position to play the Asia Cup final.

60" India makes it 6-2. A tennis set score. Sardar Singh on the left and sends a tracer bullet to the top corner of the net. He takes a cross from Akashdeep from the right and all it takes is a reverse flick from Sardar to complete a Malaysian rout.

59" Malaysia gets another goal. It is too little, too late now. Ramadan scores. He takes a pass and is in a one-on-one with Chikte. He hits it between a charging Chikte's legs and the ball lands on the board with a thud.

57" Malaysia gets another PC. Skirmish at the goalmouth and another PC. And danger averted as Chikte saves both the shots.

55" Surender loses his stick as Razie charges and hits the stick instead of the ball. The stick hits Chinglensana and it results in some aggression between the players and the umpires diffuse the fire immediately.

54" Malaysia gets a PC. India has challenged the call and the umpires go upstairs. The umpire call stays and India loses its referral. Rahim takes the shot but Akash Chikte makes a great save to deny Rahim.

53" Ramandeep runs in from the left. He stepped a defender aside in style but loses control of the ball and it ends up on his own foot.

50" Malaysia pulls one back. Malaysia 1 India 5. Rahim scores off a penalty corner. A powerful dragflick that beats Suraj all ends up. The ball actually rolled in after a deflection from an Indian defender.

49" Lalit Upadhyay is almost one-on-one with the Malaysian goalkeeper but loses possession soon after as the defenders crowd him.

47" Malaysia into the attack straightaway. It doesn't have a choice either but to attack. Tengku at it again but nothing changes. His shot, as it has been in this match, is wide off target.

Fourth and final quarter begins

End of third quarter. India 5 Malaysia 0.

44" Akashdeep from inside the cirlce. Tries a reverse flick but it is saved and misses the target. India could have got one more.

43" A chance for Malaysia. Tengku was left unmarked in the circle but his shot goes wide of the Indian goal. A rare defensive lapse by India in this match so far.

40" Excellent moves from India and it is now 5-0. S.V. Sunil scores. Sunil slides in behind the Malaysian custodian and takes the cross from the left and tapped it in on the slide. That was a stupendous goal. Sardar Singh started the move by winning the ball and sends it to Sunil who passes it to Gurjant. As Gurjant moves on the left, Sunil dashes towards the goal and was just in time to take Gurjant's shot from the left of the goal.

37" Malaysia appeal for a PC. The ball appeared to have struck Harmanpreet's ankle but the video umpire concludes that his foot was outside the circle and Malaysia loses its referral.

33" Gurjant Singh scores. India leads 4-0. Akashdeep Singh takes the ball from the right, dodges a couple of defenders and passes it to Gurjant, who was lurking near the far post. With the goalkeeper way past the near post, Gurjant only had to deflect the pass into an empty net, which he did with no mistake.

Third quarter begins

End of second quarter. At halftime, India leads 3-0.

27" India looking for more goals. The aggression continues as it makes another circle entry but cannot make it count.

24" India makes it 3-0. S.K. Uthappa unleashes a tracer bullet after a deflection from Ramandeep.

22" PC for Malaysia. Suraj saves the dragflick with his body.

21" India's S.V. Sunil is out of action for two minutes after getting a green card.

21" A scare as Malaysia's Azri goes down after Ramandeep's stick hits his head. Thankfully he is up and gets immediate medical attention.

India makes it 2-0.

20" India gets another PC. Harmanpreet's dragflick finds a defender and India gets another one. This time Harmanpreet makes no mistake. Slots it to the left top corner of the net by unleashing a thunderbolt. India doubles its lead.

18" India on the counter. Akashdeep sends a cross but Lalit cannot get his slide in to connect to perfection.

18" Malaysia gets its first PC. The goalkeeper blocks the first. A skirmish results in another PC but it is cleared with ease.

17" Malaysia is back in the hunt. Ramadan misses an easy shot on goal. With the Indian custodian at the near post, Ramadan had all the time to slot the ball at the far post but missed the connection.

Second quarter begins

End of first quarter. India 1 Malaysia 0.

15" Malaysia almost equalises. It was an open goal as the goalkeeper Suraj was caught unaware. However, the striker shoots it narrowly wide.

14" India scores. Akashdeep Singh makes it 1-0. He takes a ferocious strike from Ramandeep and times his shit to perfection to beat the Malaysian goalkeeper and a defender all ends up.

13" Akashdeep Singh trying to penetrate into the D. He cannot control the ball enough as it is cleared by the Malaysian goalkeeper easily.

10" Malaysia is down to 10 players as Haqiq is given a green card for a rough tackle. India looking to surge on the numerical advantage.

9" Malaysia come close. But the Indian defenders are agile and alert to prevent any damage.

6" India on the counter. A stupendous move by Ramandeep sees the ball inside the circle but the Malaysian goalkeeper averts Lalit Upadhyay's shot from the right. He blocks the ball with his foot and clears it.

4" Lalit misses a shot on target from a close range. And a penalty corner for India. India cannot make it count as the Malaysian defenders clear it.

3" Both the teams start on an aggressive note and take chances with counters and attack from the flanks.

India and Malaysia have faced each other five times in this year with India emerging victorious thrice.

First quarter begins

Earlier in the day, defending champion South Korea and Pakistan played out a 1-1 draw.

The teams are out for the anthems. Malaysia's anthem first, followed by India's.

Here is India's starting XI against Malaysia.

After a stupendous show in the group stages, India came from behind to hold South Korea in its first Super 4s match on Wednesday. India was left chasing the scoreboard for almost 60 minutes before Gurjant Singh pulled the trigger, seconds before the hooter. Click here , to relieve those moments and read on to watch how the match against Malaysia is panning out.