India defeated Pakistan 4-3 in a thriller to finish third in the Asian Champions Trophy Hockey 2021 in Dhaka on Wednesday. Both the teams fought from the start but in the end, it was the big-match experience that made all the difference. While Indians were dominant earning close to 10 penalty corners, Pakistan only have themselves to blame as they lacked finishing abilities, a point that was taken by captain Umar Bhutta after the game. This was also India's second win over Pakistan in the tournament having defeated them 3-1 in the group stages. Both the teams lost in the semifinals. Get here the highlights of India vs Pakistan.
17:06 PM IST: Players speak
Umar Bhutta (PAK): We don't have experience of how to finish a game. But we are learning. The junior players have proved themselves to be the future of Pakistan hockey and hopefully, they will do good in the coming days.
Manpreet Singh (IND) | Man of the Match: I always believe that I need to give my 100 per cent every time I take the field. We played good hockey today. I told my boys yesterday that today is a new day and new match and the boys delivered.
17:00 PM IST: India win
India beat Pakistan 4-3 and claim bronze medal.
16:53 PM IST: Quarter 4 - India 4-3 Pakistan
Two yellow cards for India. Hardik Singh and Sumit are out of the field and India will finish the game with 9 players.
16:51 PM IST: Quarter 4 - India 4-3 Pakistan
Ahmed Nadeem reduces the margin for Pakistan in the next minute.
16:50 PM IST: Quarter 4 - India 4-2 Pakistan
Akashdeep Singh makes it 4-2 for India. Hamaduddin loses the ball which gives Akashdeep Singh the open space to slot home.
16:47 PM IST: Quarter 4 - India 3-2 Pakistan
Back-to-back penalty corners for Pakistan but the Indian defenders do well to save their lead. 5 minutes remain in the game.
16:43 PM IST: Quarter 4 - India 3-2 Pakistan
India are spending more time on the opposition half and they earn a penalty corner. Varun Kumar scores and India take the lead. He makes no mistake.
16:41 PM IST: Quarter 4 - India 2-2 Pakistan
Another penalty corner for India. But once again they squander. Both teams are fighting for the goal but are lacking finishing touches.
16:31 PM IST: Quarter 4 - India 2-2 Pakistan
Gursahibjit Singh crosses from the left for Sumit and he makes no mistake to put the scores level with just three seconds to go into the final quarter.
16:28 PM IST: Quarter 3 - India 1-2 Pakistan
Heartbreak for Pakistan as Abdul Rana hits the first post. Lucky India.
16:25 PM IST: Quarter 3 - India 1-2 Pakistan
Another missed opportunity for India. Harmanpreet Singh takes the drag-flick but his shot hits a Pakistani defender straight.
16:17 PM IST: Quarter 3 - India 1-2 Pakistan
Goal for Pakistan. India trail. Mubashar Ali drag-flicks, Krishan Pathak saves brilliantly for the ball fall in front of Abdul Rana who makes no mistake in slotting it in.
16:15 PM IST: Quarter 3 - India 1-1 Pakistan
Brilliant one-to-one between Akashsheep Singh and Shamsher Singh. Akashdeep takes the Pakistani defenders but in the end the scores remain the same.
16:05 PM IST: HT - India 1-1 Pakistan
Another penalty corner for India just before the HT hooter but they could not convert the opportunity.
15:55 PM IST: Quarter 2 - India 1-1 Pakistan
Amjad Ali with back-to-back saves for Pakistan. First, he saves an Akashdeep Singh left-handed strike. He then steps up to block Germanpreet Singh's strike to deny India.
Indian could have gotten the lead
15:44 PM IST: Quarter 2 - India 1-1 Pakistan
Another penalty corner for India. Harmanpreet Singh drag-flicks, the ball goes straight to Amzad Ali and saved. Scores remain same.
15:40 PM IST: Quarter 2 - India 1-1 Pakistan
Good man-marking by Mandeep Mor. Pakistan play a brilliant triangle but Mor's timely interception helps the cause.
15:36 PM IST: Green card
Green card for India's Hardik Singh. He will be out of the action for two minutes.
15:31 PM IST: Quarter 1 - India 1-1 Pakistan
Moin Shakil Butt earns a penalty corner for Pakistan playing against the foot of Harmanpreet Singh. And Krishan Pathak saves it for India under the bar.
15:25 PM IST: Quarter 1 - India 1-1 Pakistan
Afraz equalises for Pakistan. India pay the price for a defensive lapse. The ball bounces off a Indian defender's stick for Afraz lurking near and he slots the ball in from the distance.
15:20 PM IST: Quarter 1 - India 1-0 Pakistan
Pakistan are now looking to get hold of the game with frequent circle entries in the opposition D. But the Indian defenders have managed to avert any danger. Score remains same.
15:15 PM IST: Quarter 1 - India 1-0 Pakistan
Four consecutive penalty corners for India within the first 2 minutes. India take the lead through a brilliant drag-flick past Pakistan goalie Amjaz Ali. This was Harmanpreet's eighth goal in the tournament.
15:06 PM IST: Coach speak
Graham Reid (IND): We let ourselves down and we didn't play with the energy and josh yesterday. This is not the game we intended to play. This is a great opportunity to learn from yesterday.
Siegfried Aikman (PAK): It's a new day. We badly want to improve. We weren't disciplined yesterday. Today we have got the chance to better ourselves.
15:02 PM IST: Hello
Hello and welcome to the bronze-medal match between India and Pakistan. The Asian Champions Trophy will have a new winner as Korea and Japan play in the final.
This is the second time in the Asian Champions Trophy hockey 2021 that India and Pakistan are clashing in Dhaka's Moulana Bhasani National Stadium. Earlier in the round-robin league, India had defeated Pakistan 3-1. India finished on top of the five-nation points table.
A final between India vs Pakistan would have been the perfect finale but the semifinals on Tuesday saw some dramatic results. While Japan humbled India 5-3, South Korea won an 11-goal thriller 6-5.
India's defence looked leaky against Japan. Having smashed 6-0 in the league stage, India looked overwhelming favourites to enter the final but Japan rocked India with two quick goals in the first quarter. India scored two late goals in the final quarter but Japan ended deserving winners.
The South Korea vs Pakistan match was a thriller from start to end. Both teams played flowing hockey. The Koreans rode a hattrick by Jonghyun Jang to snatch a fantastic win.
Pakistan have two players - Afraz and Arshad Hossain - among the top five scorers of the Asian Champions Trophy hockey 2021. India need to mark them well as the two Pakistanis have scored six goals between them.
India's Harmanpreet Singh (7) and Dilpreet Singh (5) are also among the highest goalscorers of the tournament. Korea's Jonghyun Jang leads the list with eight goals.
Quarter 1 - India 1-1 Pakistan
