Pakistan turned on the style in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, handing South Africa a 6-2 master class courtesy a superb hat-trick by talented forward Abdul Haseem Khan and a great display of goal-tending by Imran Butt in the last group match of the World Hockey League (WHL) on Tuesday.

The match, after which the quarter-final lineup of the WHL was confirmed, saw Pakistan in an electrifying mood, and while number 12th ranked South Africa were lighter opponents, Muhammad Imran’s side finally delivered a performance worthy of the praise they have been receiving from the experts present in Malaysia.

Muhammad Zubair set things into motion, netting the first goal in the 13th minute before forward Shafqat Rasool pounced on a saved penalty corner to make it 2-0 in the 17th minute. It was a great display of skill from the Greenshirts, as Pakistan are famously known as, and a throwback to the days when they ruled the field of hockey.

South Africa mounted a comeback of sorts by grabbing a goal in the 25th minute but Haseem Khan then got into the act and gave Pakistan a two-goal lead once again before half-time.

If mounting a comeback for Austin Smith’s men seemed a tall order at half-time, Pakistan made sure there was no hope left with a second half-blitzkrieg. They scored their fourth through Haseem Khan who linked up nonchalantly with Muhammad Waqas.

The rising star of Pakistan hockey, Haseem Khan, then completed his hat-trick in the 60th minute and the brilliant Shakeel Abbasi added the sixth goal for good measure to cap a clinical match for his side.

South Africa, in between, mounted several attacks and even managed to pull one back in the final minutes of the game through Craigh Haley. But while the 6-2 scoreline was a testament of Pakistan’s dominance in the field, it was also a reflection of the incredible outing Imran Butt had in goal.

In Butt, who was also injured mid-way through the match, Pakistan have found a solid replacement for Salman Akbar and is living up to the legacy his brother Rehan Butt has left in the team.

The result means Pakistan topped Group ‘B’ and will now face Korea in the quarterfinal stage on July 4 (16:15 PST), their first real test of the tournament.

Quarterfinal lineup (July 4):

Argentina v South Africa

England v Japan

Pakistan v Korea (16:15 PST)

Germany v Malaysia