LAHORE, March 18: Talented striker Shakeel Abbasi scored two fine goals as Pakistan defeated Asian silver medallists China 3-1 in the third hockey Test at Ghangzhou on Tuesday to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Pakistan put up an excellent show in the match and led 2-0 at the end of the first half according to information received here.

Pivot Muhammad Saqlain fed a superb pass to striker Waqas Sharif in the 11th minute and the nimble-footed forward dodged past Chinese defenders to fire in the opening goal to put his team in the lead.

Pakistan continued with relentless forays and broke through the Chinese defence again in the 26th minute when a brilliant move from the midfield enabled forward Shakeel to weave through and score the second goal with a well placed low shot.

In the second half, the Chinese looked a different outfit, playing aggressively from the word go and counter-attacking with dangerous moves. However, Pakistan defenders blunted their moves, thanks to some superb goal-keeping from Salman Akbar who succeeded in thwarting hosts’ attempts.

After scuttling the Chinese onslaught for a quarter of an hour, Pakistan came back in the game in the 42nd minute when a brilliant move from the right flank allowed right winger Waqas Sharif to scythe through the Chinese defence and give a sharp back pass to spearhead Shakeel who made no mistake to slam in his second goal of the match.

China reduced the margin from a penalty corner conversion in the closing stages of the match.

“We would have scored more goals had we kept a consistent pace in the game,” said Chief Coach Khawaja Zakauddin in his post match analysis. “After taking a comfortable 2-0 lead, we should have gone for the kill, but there was some complacency among our boys that did not allow us to win by a greater margin.”

Zaka was, however, satisfied with the performance of his side. “We played well today and outclassed the Chinese,” he said. Praising the performance of goalkeeper Salman Akbar, he said that the talented custodian had really brought off some magnificent saves in difficult situations which benefited Pakistan.

Pakistan play their fourth Test on March 19 (Wednesday) at 1230hrs (PST) while the 5th and final Test will be played on March 21.—APP