Azlan Shah Hockey Cup 2024: Pakistan hold New Zealand to 1-1 draw

Pakistan on Friday maintained their unbeaten run in the 30th edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup 2024 as they held number three seed New Zealand to a 1-1 draw in their last group match at the Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh, Malaysia.

Both teams battled hard in the first half but failed to score. The deadlock ended in the third quarter when New Zealand’s Luke Holmes scored a field goal in the 35th minute.

Abu Bakr Mahmood, who is now the joint-top scorer for Pakistan along with Sufyan Muhammad Khan with four goals, levelled with a penalty corner eight minutes later.

The 1-1 finish means Pakistan would march into the final against Japan with an unbeaten run in the round-robin stage.

The three-time former Sultan Azlan Shah Cup champions registered three wins – against South Korea, Malaysia and Canada – and two draws against Japan and New Zealand.

The final is scheduled for May 11 at the same venue. The match will start at 5:30pm Pakistan Standard Time.

Path to the final

In the crucial match against Canada, Pakistan recovered from an early setback and registered a 5-4 win on Wednesday.

Canada started the game aggressively and kept attacking Pakistan’s goalpost from the word go. They succeeded in taking a 2-0 lead in the 17th minute of the game.

Pakistan were on the backfoot but made a resounding comeback to end the game with a decisive 5-4 lead.

Abu Bakr Mahmood scored two quick goals in the third quarter to bring Pakistan back into the game. Arshad Liaqat, Rana Waheed Ashraf and Ghazanfar Ali also notched up one goal each for Pakistan.

Sean Davis scored a brace for Canada, while Harbir Sindhu and Avjot Buttar scored one each.