India and Pakistan played out a 1-1 thrilling draw in the AHF Junior Men Asia Cup Hockey Tournament at Sultan Qaboos Youth Complex for Culture and Entertainment at Salalah in Oman on Saturday. With this draw, both India and Pakistan continue to share the top spot in the table with two wins and a draw. Sharda Nand Tiwari (24’) was the lone scorer for India, while Basharat Ali (44’) was the scorer for Pakistan.
Pakistan are slightly ahead of India on better goal difference. While Pakistan has scored 25 and conceded two, India has scored 22 and conceded two.
India was on the offensive from the word go and displayed a pressing game to put Pakistan under pressure. The Indian team also won a couple of penalty corners early in the game but couldn’t capitalise on them. Pakistan, on the other hand, also managed to create few chances and even came close to scoring through a penalty corner but Indian goalkeeper Amandeep Lakra stood strong to keep opponents at bay as the opening quarter of the game ended goalless.
However, India broke the deadlock early in the second quarter as Sharda Nand Tiwari (24’) converted a penalty corner to give his team a much-needed lead in the intense game. With the score line in their favour, the Indian Colts started playing more confidently and even troubled Pakistan’s defence line on numerous occasions, but couldn’t find the back of the net for the second time in the second quarter as they went into the half-time break with the 1-0 lead.
Desperate to find an equaliser, Pakistan entered the third quarter of the match with an attacking mindset and it paid off as Basharat Ali (44’) scored a field goal to level the score as the third quarter ended with the score tied at 1-1.
Keen to regain the advantage, India came out all guns blazing in the fourth quarter of the match and started playing aggressively, while Pakistan continued to attack on the counter. However, despite both teams coming close to scoring quite a few times, neither of them was able to find the back of the net in the last quarter as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Notably, both India and Pakistan are unbeaten in the tournament so far and have accumulated seven points each from their respective three games so far in Pool A. However, Pakistan are leading the tally and are positioned over second-placed India on the basis of goal difference.
India will next play against Thailand in its last pool game on May 28. Pakistan has a game against Japan in hand.