India play out draw with Malaysia, stay on top

Muscat, October 23

Defending champions India played their best match of the tournament, outplaying Malaysia for most part of the fast-paced encounter, but failed to convert that dominance into a win.

Having played a thriller in the Asian Games semifinals, which Malaysia had won in the shootout, the pool fixture in Muscat between the table-toppers was a highly-anticipated match. Though it ended 0-0, the match was anything but boring.

India would be disappointed to not win a match they had almost complete control on. India had over 60 percent possession in the opposition’s half. They had two-three clear chances at goal, with only the goalkeeper to beat on two occasions, and earned three penalty corners. Two of the penalty corner near the end of the match. Malaysia, on the other hand, had no penalty corner, and had only one shot, that too off target.

However, India would be content with a crucial point, which keeps them on top of the pool, ahead of Malaysia on goal-difference. With a goal-difference of 22, as opposed to Malaysia’s 7, India can qualify for the semifinals in pole position with a win over South Korea in their last pool match on Wednesday. — TNS