Asian Champions Trophy: India would like to end the group stage with a win against Pakistan | Loktej Sports News

Chennai, 9 August (Hindustan Times). The biggest clash of the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy tournament will be held tonight when in-form India take on arch-rivals Pakistan in their final group stage encounter at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai. The match will start at 8:30 pm Indian time.

India are on top of the points table with a total of 10 points from four matches with three wins and one draw. Pakistan, on the other hand, are fourth with five points from four matches with one win, two draws and one loss.

Both the countries have played some exciting and high-profile matches in recent years. India, the world number four team, have an edge over the young Pakistani team due to their experience. Pakistan, ranked 16th in the world, will be under pressure to perform well with a semi-final spot at stake. If they draw the match, they will be assured of a place in the last four. But if they lose, they will have to depend on the result of today’s match between Japan and China, if Japan defeats China, Pakistan will be out of the competition.

Thanks to their undefeated run in the tournament, India have already sealed their place in the semi-finals. India started with a 7–2 win over China, followed by a 1–1 draw against Japan and then wins over Malaysia (5–0) and South Korea (3–2).

Pakistan, on the other hand, lost 3-1 to Malaysia in their opening match before drawing against Korea and Japan. They earned their first win of the tournament on Monday with a 2-1 win over China. Both India and Pakistan are the most successful teams in the history of the Asian Champions Trophy with three titles each. They last met in the Asia Cup 2022 in Jakarta, where they played out a 1-1 draw.

Pakistan’s head-to-head track record is 82 wins-64 losses. The last time Pakistan beat India in hockey was at the 2016 SAF Games in Guwahati, after that India and Pakistan played 14 matches together, of which India won 12 while two ended in draws.

Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh is the leading scorer in the tournament with five goals and will be a major threat to Pakistan. On the other hand, India will have to be careful with Muhammad Khan, who has scored three goals so far. India have been impressive in their attack, scoring 16 goals in the tournament, the most by any team, while Pakistan have scored seven goals. India have also been a formidable defending side, conceding only five goals, the least among all teams. Pakistan have conceded eight goals so far.