MUSCAT: India made a stupendous comeback after being a goal down as they beat Pakistan 3-1 in the fifth Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament to stretch their unbeaten streak against arch-rivals to 11 games.

Captain Manpreet Singh (24th), forward Mandeep Singh (31st) and Dilpreet Singh (42nd) scored for the winners with the Indian captain’s impressive performance earning him the man of the match award on Saturday night.

India dominated the proceeding despite Mohammad Irfan Jr’s first minute strike that had put Pakistan ahead.

Ranked fifth in the world, India went into the match with a 10-match unbeaten streak against Pakistan but it was the World No. 13 side, who started in good rhythm.

It was a quick start for the Pakistanis as they won a penalty corner in the first minute and managed to score through Irfan Jr, who was the quickest to react after Indian custodian PR Sreejesh had made a save off the PC execution.

The goal came as a setback for the Indian team but they did manage to regain control in the next few minutes, keeping possession and trying to make inroads in the Pakistani defence through darting runs down the flanks.

It was a moment of magic from skipper Manpreet, which saw India finally get their equaliser as the midfielder showcased individual brilliance to score in the 24th minute.

Manpreet won possession just inside Pakistan’s half, making a marauding run into the striking circle and weaving past three defenders in the process to finish the move all by himself.

In the third quarter, it was Mandeep’s turn to get his name on the score-sheet. A turnover in the 31st minute saw Akashdeep Singh make a defence splitting run into the striking circle and pass the ball to fellow striker Mandeep, who had his back towards Pakistani goal but flicked the ball between his own legs as Pakistani goalkeeper Imran Butt had no chance.

India had a good third quarter as they denied their arch-rivals and then extended their lead to two goals in the 42nd as Dilpreet Singh scored his fourth of the tournament.

India attacked their opponents through a quick counter-attack which was led by Akashdeep, who raced past Pakistani midfielders and then found Lalit Upadhyay on the right flank. Lalit then moved forward towards the baseline and struck a hard low shot towards goal, which was padded by Imran Butt into the path of Dilpreet, who slotted home.

The Indian team maintained their high pressure play in the last quarter as they looked to win the ball back as soon as they lost possession and won the 50-50 battles to make sure that Pakistan could not have chances to make their way into the match.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2018