New Delhi: Two easy wins garnered, a confident India would face its toughest test in the event when it takes on arch-rivals Pakistan in the much-anticipated clash of the Asia Cup hockey tournament, in Dhaka on Sunday.


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Rated as favourites to win the title, the Indians have been impressive so far, beating Japan and hosts Bangladesh comprehensively in their opening two Pool A matches.


After beating Japan 5-1 in their opening match, the Manpreet Singh-led side mauled minnows Bangladesh 7-0 yesterday.


Pakistan, on the other hand, have had a mixed outing so far. While they thrashed Bangladesh 7-0 in their campaign- opener, they were held to a 2-2 draw by Japan in their next match.


India are currently sitting atop Pool A with six points from two wins while Pakistan are placed second with four points.


Of late, India have dominated arch-foes Pakistan in hockey, the latest being the 6-1 thrashing in a 5th-8th place classification match of the Hero Hockey World League Semi- Final in London in June.


That loss dented Pakistan's hopes of booking a berth at the next year's World Cup to be held in Bhubaneswar and the Pakistanis would be desperate for revenge.


With four world titles and three Asia Cup titles (1982, 1985, 1989), the 14th-ranked Pakistan have been blighted by poor management and security concerns.


Here's everything you need to know about the match:


Date: 15th October, 2017
Time: 5:00 pm IST
Venue: Maulana Bhashani National Hockey Stadium, Dhaka


India Squad


Goalkeepers: Akash Chikte, Suraj Karkera
Defenders: Dipsan Tirkey, Kothajit Khadangbam, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar
Midfielders: SK Uthappa, Sardar Singh, Manpreet Singh (captain), Chinglensana Kangujam, Sumit
Forwards: S.V. Sunil (vice-captain), Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar, Gurjant Singh, Satbir Singh


Pakistan squad


Mazhar Abbas, Amjad Ali, Mohammad Irfan Sr (captain), Rizwan Sr (vice-captain), Mazhar Abbas, Amjad Ali, Atif Mushtaq, Mubashir Ali, Ammad Shakil Butt, Abu Bakar, Tassawur Abbas, Rashid Mahmood, Rizwan Jr, Arsalan Qadir, Azfar Yaqoob, Umer Bhutta, Ali Shan, M. Atiq, Waqas Akbar and Aijaz Ahmed.


TV Listings:


India: TV: Star Sports 2/HD
Malaysia: TV: Astro Arena/HD
Pakistan: TV: PTV
Japan: TV: TV Tokyo


Live Streaming: Hotstar


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