Pakistan displayed brilliant show in the final of Azlan Shah Cup Hockey Tournament here on Sunday against Australia before going down by a narrow 2-3 defeat. Pakistan fought valiantly in Sunday's match as Pakistan and Australia were 2 each at the end of regulation time. The match entered into golden goal extra time wherein Australia scored the decider.
Pakistan appeared a bit subdued in the first quarter but soon rose to the occasion and matched the fast moving Australians with great spurt and aggression. Australia took the early lead in the match with a goal in the 10th minute by Christopher Ciriello. Pakistan came back into the match when Sohail Abbas converted a penalty corner in the 32nd minute and kept the score line drawn at one each. In the second half, Australia's Glen Turner cracked a forehand past Pakistan's goalkeeper to lead again but was matched in the 62nd minute by Rehan Butt's field goal. During extra time, Australia had the lions share of opportunities and were eventually able to put one through to take the match 3 goals to 2.