India whip Pak

Breda: India thrashed arch-rivals Pakistan 4-0 in the inaugural match of the Champions Trophy hockey tournament here on Saturday. Ramandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh and Lalit Upadhyay scored for the men in blue who completely dominated their opponents throughout at the packed BH & BC Hockey Stadium here.

It was Roelant Oltmans-coached Pakistani outfit who were on the attack mode right from the start.  India's goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh was put to task in the initial minutes of the match when Muhammad Irfan Junior took a strong shot on goal but the Indian skipper was up to the challenge, making an impressive save. 

For Pakistan, it was the experienced Muhammad Irfan holding their defence. They used pace in the midfield to hold sway, and did not allow India easy circle entry. India tried high balls to penetrate and make space in the striking circle but it did not work. However, a clever stick work by Mandeep Singh in the baseline helped India win the first PC of the match. The chance though went begging as Harmanpreet Singh couldn't get the right pace on his flick, as Pakistan's experienced goalkeeper Imran Butt broke no sweat to save.