JOHOR BAHRU: Sufyan Khan struck in the 54th minute to help Pakistan pin down arch-rivals India for a 3-3 stalemate in the blockbuster Sultan of Johor Cup match here at the Taman Daya Hockey Stadium on Tuesday.
The much-awaited match got off to an exciting start as captain Hannan Shahid put Pakistan ahead after just five minutes by successfully converting a penalty shot.
The Green Shirts were close to doubling their lead in the first quarter, but Sufyan drilled the penalty corner just wide of the post.
Both teams made several attempts to score but to no avail as the score remained 1–0 in Pakistan’s favor until half-time.
Pakistan finally got the reward for their efforts in the 39th minute when Sufyan took advantage of the awarded penalty corner to double their lead just minutes after India had burned their chance.
India then staged an astonishing comeback by scoring three goals in just eight minutes through Araijeet Singh Hundal, Sourabh Anand and Manmeet Singh to secure a narrow 3-2 lead with nine minutes remaining.
However, Pakistan scored an equalizer just five minutes before the final whistle when Sufyan evaded the Indian goalkeeper and buried the ball in the back of the net.
The final five minutes of the enthralling encounter saw both Pakistan and India make desperate attempts to score the winner, but the score remained intact at 3-3 at the final whistle, leaving the traditional rivals sharing a point each.
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