India vs New Zealand Live Updates: Azlan Shah Cup hockey

FOURTH QUARTER (IND 1 - 2 NEW ZEALAND)

51st min: Just missed! Nikkin's ferocious shot goes perilously close to the post. Chance missed!

Photo Credit: Hockey India

49th min: NZ on the attack, this time good defence by Rupinder, but pulled up for an infringement soon after.
46th min: PC to India. Good start to the final 15 min for them. Can they make something of it? Rupinder sweeps eyeing the bottom corner but Manchester comes up with another brilliant save.
India need to pull out all stops if they need to win this one. Mandeep and Sardar crucial to a comeback, if it happens.
END OF THIRD QUARTER (IND 1 - 2 NEW ZEALAND)
43rd min: Like after the second quarter. New Zealand have taken lead just before the end of third quarter. Costly errors by the Indian defence. India under pressure now.
41st min: GOAL! New Zealand back into the lead. Comedy of errors in front of the goal. Poor defence to say the least and poor goalkeeping as well. Nicholas Wilson hits it in to get his fourth goal of the tournament.
36th: GOAL! India find the equaliser through Mandeep to make it 1-1. First goal of the tournament for Mandeep.
34th min: Good pass by Rupinder to Ramandeep, but he carries it a bit too far himself, crowded off by the New Zealanders.
32nd min: Desperate drive from Inglis to meet the cross from the left but just away from him. Very ordinary defending from the Indians.
END OF SECOND QUARTER (HALF-TIME: IND 0 - 1 New ZEALAND)
Referee blows the half-time whistle. That goal from Russell just before the lemon break will hurt the Indians. But still a lot of hockey to be played in this game.
28th min: Rupinder Pal penalised! Penalty corner to New Zealand. GOAL! Kane Russell scores for the Black Sticks.
Good save by Harjot, diving to his left while coming up from his line a bit to cut the angle. He is having a much better game than earlier in the tournament.
25th min: It seems NZ seek to push the game to last quarter as 0-0 and then put pressure on India with a push in the last 15-min. But it can backfire.
Brilliantly saved by Devon Manchester as Rupinder directed his aerial flick to the goalie's right. But a wide stretch arm of the New Zealander, deflects it over the bar.
20th min: PC for India. First of the match overall. Nicely flicked into a NZ foot by Sunil.
17th min: Manpreet not as much in the game today as yesterday. Wonder it's got to do with a knock he took on the knee against Pakistan.
It's 36 degrees Celsius in Ipoh as the teams come back on the pitch after the 4-min extended break.
END OF FIRST QUARTER (IND 0 - 0 New Zealand)
Possession 50:50 in the first 15 minutes. That's pretty even, but nothing much to show as highlights in the first quarter.
12th min: Good play by India, not giving away the ball, spreading it around. But NZ have built a good defensive wall, not letting Indian forwards move in together.
8th min: First real threat posed by India through Mandeep from the right of the NZ circle. Good individual skills, and sends a cross in that is padded away by the goalkeeper. But overall a pretty cagey start by both the teams.
6th min: Nothing much incisive so far from the two teams apart from the Wilson shot. An update coming in is that the breaks between quarters will be of 4 min instead of 2 due to the heat in Ipoh.
4th min: First shot from NZ at goal comes from Wilson, but saved by Harjot.
2nd min: NZ got the game going as the two teams start to gauge each other.
1:35 p.m. Harjot Singh stays on the bench, which is slowly hinting now that he is being pushed out of the seat as India's No. 2 goalkeeper.
1:30 p.m. New Zealand must win today to stay in the race for the final. A drawn will only just keep them in the race, as we wait for the teams to line up for the National Anthem.
1:25 p.m. The euphoria around the thumping 5-1 win over Pakistan on Tuesday has just about sunk in for the Indian hockey fans. But it's another tough battle coming up today against New Zealand as India try to strengthen their position at No. 2 on the points table.
The Black Sticks are close on India's heels with 8 points. India are at 9 points from 4 matches but have played a game less than NZ.

As far as the goal difference is concerned, NZ are only slightly better at +4 compared to India's +3.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. 

Azlan Shah Cup 2016: India thrash Pakistan 5-1 to propel themselves to second in table

 

 Rupinder Pal Singh scored from a penalty corner and missed a penalty stroke in 5-1 demolition of Pakistan. (Source: Hockey India)

A dominant India registered their biggest victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in six years when they coasted to a 5-1 win in a round-robin league match of the 25th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
This was India’s biggest win since their 7-4 triumph against Pakistan in the 2010 Commonwealth Games at New Delhi.

Playing their best game of the tournament, Manpreet Singh opened the scoring for India in the fourth minute but Pakistan equalised in the seventh through captain Muhammad Irfan.

But thereafter it was all India as the Sardar Singh-led side controlled the proceedings with SV Sunil scoring two opportunistic field goals in the 10th and 41st minutes.

Talwinder Singh then capitalised on a rebound to score India’s fourth goal in the 50th minute before Rupinder Pal Singh converted a penalty corner in the 54th minute.

India’s victory would have been bigger had Rupinder converted a penalty stroke in the 55th minute and an deflection into the net by Ramandeep Singh in the 69th was not disallowed after the umpire initially blew for a goal.

The victory took India to the second spot in the round-robin league standings with nine points from four outings. The table is being led by world champions Australia on 12 points from four straight wins.

Australia took one step into the final when they prevailed 1-0 over Oceania rivals and defending champions New Zealand, who now have eight points from five matches.

The all-important goals for Australia was scored by captain Jamie Dwyer, who capitalised on a rebound to shootinto the open goal with the goalkeeper at his mercy.

Later in the day, in an exhibition of the sub-continental style of hockey, India lifted their game by leaps and bounds to dominate the match, forcing Pakistan to crowd their territory in the second half to deny Sardar’s men more goals.