India defeated the host Malaysia 4-2 to climb the second spot in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament on Tuesday.
While Sumit Kumar (17th minute), Sumit Kumar junior(27th minute) and Mandeep Singh (58th minute) found the net for India, Razie Rahim(27th minute) and Firhan Ashari(57th minute) scored for the hosts.
With seven points behind Korea, India climbed up to the second position in the table with two wins and a draw. Previously India had beaten Japan 2-0 in the first match before ended up in a 1-1 draw against Korea.
Malaysia won their first penalty corner just five minutes after the game started, but the brilliant save of Krishnan B Pathak guarded India against a disaster.
Surender Kumar remained as the backbone of India with the experienced support from Birendra Lakra which helped the forward-line surge into the striking circle. Eventually, it was Sumit who got India to an important 1-0 lead in the seventeenth minute which was soon equalized by Razie Rahimin the 21st minute. The twenty-seventh minute saw Sumit Kumar Junior shaking the net for India.
Birendra Lakra was named as the man-of-the-match for his excellent performance and India will take on Canada on Wednesday.
