India staged a remarkable fight-back to hold arch-rival Pakistan 2-2 in a thrilling final league encounter and when Malaysia staged a superb come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Japan later in the day, it helped India reach the final of the Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament here on Friday.
Japan, which needed to win the match to make it to the final, led 2-0 at half time but its hopes were dashed with the Malaysians scoring thrice in the space of 24 minutes in the second session.
Japan's loss ensured that India booked a berth for the summit clash against Pakistan on Sunday. Pakistan and India emerged the top two sides in the tournament with 10 and nine points respectively after the round-robin league. Malaysia and Japan will again play for the 3rd/4th position as they finished on an identical seven points.
Slow start
Under seven degree temperature and chilly wind blowing, both India and Pakistan started off slowly testing each other on the flanks and in the midfield. At the break, both teams were locked goalless.
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