IPOH (Malaysia), May 13 Pakistan kept up its chase for a place in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup final with a 6-2 win over Egypt on Thursday.

Pakistan went ahead with a field goal from halfback Mohammad Tauseeq in the 12th minute. Six minutes later it was forward Mohammad Zubair's turn to double the advantage.

Skipper and fullback Mohammad Imran converted Pakistan's first penalty-corner in the 28th minute to put Pakistan firmly in the driver's seat.

They increased their advantage in the second half. Centre-forward Haseem Khan was on target in the 40th minute before vice captain and forward Waqas Sharif made it 5-0 two minutes later.

Egypt missed a penalty stroke in the 49th minute when Mohammad Amr fumbled the attempt but Mohammad Hassan scored for them two minutes later. It was only their second goal in five matches.

Haseem Khan, however, increased the tally to 6-1 by scoring in the 51st minute and Egypts Hassan scored in the 70th minute to reduce the margin.

Pakistan's coach Khawaja Junaid said it had been crucial that his team win with a big margin against Egypt.

“But the lack of concentration in the later stages allowed Egypt to score.

“Goals are going to play a big part in who goes to the final. This is a good tournament with a level playing field,” he said.

“Four teams are fighting for one berth. It is a great battle and we will see it going to the last match.”

Pakistan now have eight points and will complete their fixtures on Saturday with the match against South Korea.

India, who did not have any matches on Thursday, is set to grab one berth as they need to beat Egypt on Saturday in their last group match.

Besides Pakistan, Australia and South Korea, host Malaysia is also in the running for the other berth, which would be decided on goal difference.

Meanwhile, world champions Australia and South Korea drew 2-2.

Australia or Korea could have put themselves in a good position to qualify for the final had either of them won the match, but now the two finalists will be decided on Saturday, in matches on the final day of the preliminaries.

Australia will play China while South Korea meets Pakistan. India has Egypt in its sights while Malaysia has completed its fixtures but needs to wait for Saturday's results to know its fate.

Australia scored goals through Kieran Govers in the fifth minute and Matt Ghodes in the 48th minute.

The Koreans were on target through a Nam Hyun-woo penalty-corner in the 25th minute and a goal from Ro Jong-hwan in the 58th minute.—AFP