Live Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2018: India vs Malaysia, Live Match Updates

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Full Time! With that, we come to the end of the match, as India run away with a massive 5-1 victory over their hosts. This was a big statement of intent from the Indians, who had failed to garner any wins before this match.

59 - PC for Malaysia! It's misplayed from the PC, and India get the ball away on a swift counter. Sumit races down the flank, but the hooter goes off, signalling the end of the match.

58 - PC for Malaysia! Faisal takes the shot, but hits it into an Indian knee. Another PC.

57 - PC for India! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!!!! Gurjant makes it 5-1! Sardar played it in, as Rohidas hit a firm shot. While it was saved by the keeper, Gurjant was got on the rebound, and placed it in the goal.

54 - GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!! Ramandeep scores his 3rd goal of the tournament! Varun shoots it towards goal from outside the circle, as the defenders let the ball go. However, Ramandeep was alert to the chance, and got a stick to it before the ball went in.

53 - PC for India! Ramandeep plays it in, Varun takes the shot, which is deflected, and the rebound goes wide.

50 - Talwinder makes the circle entry from the left and plays it in, but it is parried away.

48 - GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!! Sumit Kumar doubles India's lead! Sardar plays it into Ramandeep, who fizzes it in on the reverse, as Sumit Kumar tapped it into the goal.

47 - PC for Malaysia! Rahim swings it towards goal, but Karkera makes a good save. India still have the lead....barely!!

46 - Malaysia have taken the early initiative in the final quarter, as Fitri earns a PC.

Eng of Q3! And with that we move into the final segment of the match. It was an eventful third quarter, as both the sides scored a goal each. India manage to carry their lead into the final quarter. Can they hold on?

43 - GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!! Gurjant puts India in the lead! It runs away from Varun from a PC, but he managed to get in a shot on the reverse. while the initial shot was blocked, Ramandeep tried to dink the rebound over the keeper's head. That too was blocked. However, the Malaysians were not third time lucky, as it fell kindly to Gurjant, who tapped it into an empty goal.

42 - Sumit goes along the baseline and catches a back stick to win a PC!

40 - Sinranjeet steals it on the left flank, plays it into Gurjant, who wins a free hit outside the circle.

35 - Its a thrilling battle between the two sides in the midfield at the moment. Sardar is controlling things, playing the creative role, but he has been caught in possession quite often as well.

33 - GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL!!!!!!!!!! Faizal puts Malaysia back on level terms! He pulled the trigger from the top of the circle, as the ball slipped between two defenders, and into the top corner. Keeper had no chance there.

33 - Fitri is all over the place, as he bursts into the circle and shoots on the reverse. However, the shot is saved.

32 - Fitri creates a brilliant opportunity, jinking past a couple of defenders, as he played an acute through ball. But the defenders were alert to the chance, and thwarted it easily.

31 - And we're off in the second half, as Malaysia get the proceedings underway. Simranjeet steals it in the middle of the park, and plays it to Ramandeep, who plays a weak shot.

Half Time! And with that, we come to the end of the first half, with India leading 1-0. The Malaysians have threatened though, without much avail.

30 - Fitri gets the ball on the edge of the circle again, turns the defender, and opens up a clear angle on goal, to pull the trigger....inches wide.

23 - Malaysia on the counter, and Fitri plays it in from the left, on the reverse for Tengku, who went sliding in, but Karkera did well to get a knee to it.

25 - PC for India! Ramandeep played it in, but Varun's shot hit a knee, and the umpire called for another PC for India. However, Malaysia referred the call and earned a free hit, as the ball was too high.

23 - India launch a swift counter-attack from that chance, and Gurjant pulls the trigger from the right side, a shot that was blocked. Ramandeep got on to the rebound, but lost the angle.

22 - And Suddenly, the match sprung to life! Fitri dinked it over the defenders into the Indian circle, as Tegku gave good chase to the ball. However, Karkera was alert to the danger, and rushed out to cover the angles. There was a melee of bodies there, as both Malaysian and Indian players tumbled over the Indian keeper.

20 - Malaysia are cautiously playing it around the back. Their trap seems to be working as of now, the Indians are pressing forward quite often.

18 - Lots of mispasses taking place in this match. Perhaps it's got something to do with the rain. The sticks seem to be slipping from their hands.

16 - Dipsan Tirkey gets a green card for a body-check on Fitri. Its 2 minutes on the bench for him.

India get the proceedings underway...

End of Q1: It has been a difficult half for both sides. India don't like to play in the rain, while Malaysia have struggled to get their attacks going. However, the Indians hold a slender lead for now.

13 - Tengku surges up the pitch, plays a delicate one-two, dinks past an Indian defender, and shoots from close range, but Suraj Karkera did well to get a foot to that shot.

11 - Malaysia seem to be stuck in a rut at the moment. They are finding it difficult to regain possession, and their attacks are not being sustained for long periods.

9 - GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!! Shivanan Lakra puts India in the lead!!

Gurjant fizzed in a low cross, which was blocked near the goal by the Malaysia keeper, but Lakra was there on the spot to pick up the rebound and dink it over the grounded keeper's head to score the first goal of the match.

8 - It's been a slow start for both the sides tonight. A bit of sluggish play from midfield. Let's hope that the quality of the game improves later on.

5 - Faizal nicks it from Sardar in the middle of the park, and surges up the pitch, and pulls the trigger from inside the circle. However, he could not connect properly while looking to shoot on the run, and his shot lacked power. That didn't trouble the keeper one bit!

4 - Sumit bursts into the circle from the left flank, and tries to whip it across the goal. However, his cross, which had a lot of power missed everyone and hit the framework of the goal, as it bundled out of play. That certainly had the Malaysia keeper's heart in his mouth.

3 - India have negotiated the early onslaught from the home side, and are now looking to attack the Malaysian goal. However, the Malaysians have defended with cohesion, making circle penetrations difficult for the Indians.

1- Ramandeep Singh gets the match underway, as he pushes it back to his teammates. However, Malaysia soon get the ball.

Here's how India are set to line-up for the match...

Here’s the starting XI for Indian Men’s Hockey Team as they take on Malaysia in their fourth match of the 27th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup on 7th March 2018. Catch all the action LIVE on Star Sports1/1 HD and Hotstar.#IndiaKaGame #INDvMAS #SultanAzlanShah pic.twitter.com/jA15JAzFFJ
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) March 7, 2018

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the India vs Malaysia game. The national anthems are done, and we are ready to get the match underway!

Good evening! Hello and welcome to Sportskeeda's live coverage of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2018.

Today, India take on hosts Malaysia in a crucial fixture of the round-robin league. Having failed to register a single win in their first three matches, the Men in Blue are currently languishing at fifth in the six-team tournament. They started their campaign with a narrow 2-3 loss to Rio Olympic champions Argentina and followed it up with a 1-1 draw with England.

In their last match, the Sardar Singh-led side was outclassed by World Champions Australia. Despite a spirited fight back in the fourth and final quarter of the match, India ended up losing 2-4. Now, they face a must-win situation to stay in contention. Malaysia, on the other hand, have registered two wins in their three matches and are placed third on the table.

It promises to be an exciting encounter.