The much anticipated Pakistan-India clash in the International Super Series Hockey 9s ended in disappointment for the Greenshirts who lost their third game on the trot in the event in Perth, Australia.  

The 5-2 scoreline gave India a thumping win in the end and left new captain Muhammad Imran’s men with plenty to ponder about ahead of their big test in the upcoming Champions Trophy.

Pakistan, coming off back-to-back losses against Australia and England which ended their chances of reaching the final, were taken to task early in their third game, R.V Ramachandra striking India’s first goal in only the 2nd minute of the match. They added two more through Akashdeep Singh and S.S Vitalacarya while Pakistan also got onto the scoresheet  courtesy Shafqat Rasool.

The first-half ended 3-1 and kept Pakistan in the game but India came charging again when the two teams came out for the second. Vitalacarya and Manpreet Singh made the hapless Imran Shah look a little more out of place at the international level, scoring in the 29th and 33rd minute to effectively seal the game.

Muhammad Rizwan SR got one back for Pakistan to leave the Greenshirts winless in the group stage.

The two teams will again clash against each other Sunday for the third and fourth places.