NEW DELHI, Oct 6: Experienced forwards Rehan Butt and Shakeel Abbasi starred Wednesday in Pakistan's emphatic 4-1 victory against Malaysia in the Commonwealth Games hockey tournament.

Mohammad Imran put Pakistan ahead in the 17th minute of the Pool 'A' tie when he converted a penalty-corner before Malaysia equalised off an Amin Muhamad Rahim drag-flick at the Major Dhyan Chand stadium.

Abbasi made it 2-1 three minutes into the second half when he unleashed a powerful drive which caught the Malaysian goalkeeper by surprise.

The veteran centre-forward then set up Pakistan's next goal, feeding a pass to Butt who tapped it into the right corner of the post.

Striker Mohammad Waqas then rounded off Pakistan's scoreline with a field goal in the 65th minute.

Pakistan, silver medallists in the 2006 Melbourne Games, next take on defending champions Australia on Saturday.

Earlier, world champions Australia rode on a hat-trick by veteran full-back Luke Doerner to crush Scotland 9-0 in their opening Pool 'A' match.

Doerner, returning to the side after missing Australias Champions Trophy triumph in Germany last month, slotted in the goals in the 14th, 38th and 60 minutes to give the defending champions a rousing start to the tournament.

The world number one side were hardly tested by the 23rd-ranked Scots in the lop-sided encounter played in blistering heat at the near-empty Major Dhyan Chand stadium.

Chris Cirilello picked a brace, Rob Hammond underlined his class with a stunning reverse flick and Trent Mitton scored a field goal to give the Aussies a 5-0 lead at half-time.

The second-half followed a similar pattern with the Kookaburras denying the Scots any chance of opening their account. Simon Orchard and Des Abbott added to the two goals scored by Doerner after the break.

It was at this very venue that the Aussies, coached by Ric Charlesworth, won the World Cup after 24 years by beating defending champions Germany 2-1 in the final.

The Aussies also enjoy an enviable record in the Commonwealth Games, having won the gold in all the three editions since the sport was introduced in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

Australian captain Jamie Dwyer said his team was looking forward to going home with the fourth gold medal on the trot.

Charlesworth said he was disappointed to see empty stands.

In a Pool 'B' match later in the day, England defeated Trinidad and Tobago 4-0 with striker Simon Mantell scoring two first-half goals.

Ashley Jackson (39th) and Alastair Brogdon (58) chipped in with a goal each as the minnows suffered their second defeat in the competition.

Men's:

Pakistan 4 Malaysia 1

New Zealand 4 South Africa 2

Australia 9 Scotland 0

England 4 Trinidad and Tobago 0

Women's:

India 1 Australia 2

Canada 1 England 4

—Agencies