CHENNAI: A near-capacity crowd turned up for the all-important Asian Champions Trophy clash between India and Malaysia at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here on Sunday. While the spectators had plenty to cheer for in the first two matches of the day - both action-packed games ended in draws - they saved their best for the last. The India team did not disappoint them, jumping to the top of the table with a convincing 5-0 victory over Malaysia.
India, who returned to winning ways after the 1-1 draw against Japan on Friday, have seven points from three matches while Malaysia dropped to second in the standings and have six points off three games. In an encounter where they dominated from start to finish, India struck through both field goals and penalty corners to set themselves up for the rest of the ACT.
After Malaysia had a spell of early possession, India were inches away from taking the lead as Sukhjeet Singh's reverse flick went just wide of goal. The hosts rarely allowed Malaysia to penetrate and deservedly opened their account moments before the end of the first quarter. In the 15th minute, skipper Harmanpreet Singh picked out Karthi Selvam with an inch-perfect pass and the local lad found the bottom left corner with a thunderous strike from the edge of the D.
The decibel level at the venue reached a crescendo soon after the ball hit the back of the board; after all, it was one of their own who had put his name on the scorecard. A few minutes into the second quarter, PR Sreejesh, not starting for the first time in the tournament, came off his line to avert danger and preserve the home team's lead.
After holding a one-goal advantage at the half-time break, India doubled their cushion via Hardik Singh in the 32nd minute. Harmanpreet's dragflick off a penalty corner was hit straight at Malaysian goalkeeper Hafizuddin Othman, who made the save but his clearance fell kindly to Hardik. The Indian midfielder pounced on the opportunity at the near post to make it 2-0.
Four minutes later, Malaysia thought that they had pulled one goal back, only for the TV umpire to reverse the on-field official's decision and deem the move as 'dangerous play'. In the 42nd minute, India tripled their lead after bagging three successive penalty corners. Off the third one, Harmanpreet joined the goal-scoring party as his stinging drag-flick deflected off a Malaysian defender and into the goal.
Eight minutes into the fourth and final quarter, an unmarked Gurjant Singh put the contest to bed by diverting a rasping reverse hit from Mandeep Singh. In the very next minute, Jugraj Singh put the icing on the cake with a powerful drag-flick off a PC, which Othman could only get a hand to and not prevent from going in.
