Pakistan beat archrivals India 4-3 in the second semi-final of the Hero Hockey Champions Trophy on Saturday in Bhubaneswar, India.
Pakistan, who beat Netherland 4-2 in the quarter-final, were 1-0 down when Gurjinder Singh opened scoring with a well-converted penalty corner in the 12th minute of the first quarter.
Pakistan came back strong in the second quarter and equalized courtesy Muhammad Arsalan Qadir’s goal in the 17th minute. Muhammad Waqas then gave Pakistan lead with a goal in the 32nd minute just after the half-time break.
Dharamvir Singh brought the Indians back in the game with an equalizer in the 38th minute but Pakistan’s Muhammad Irfan put them in lead with a 44th minute goal. But Pakistan’s 3-2 lead was very short-lives as Chandanda Thimmaiah scored in the 45th minute to bring India back on level terms.
The match came down to wire and in the 59th minutes Arsalan found himself in the penalty box and after making a swift turn chipped it over the keeper for the winner.
Earlier, Germany beat Australia 3-2 to book a spot in the final where they will face Pakistan on Sunday.