LIVE India vs China 31 Aug 2007

The match is over. The final whistle is blown as the Indians walk off the pitch, a relieved bunch. India win 1-0 and take three points. Honestly, they should have won by a bigger margin, atleast a 5-0 margin would justified 17 entries into the Chinese striking circle.

Prabhjot, Ignace are back on the pitch after a five minute respite. A Rajpal move almost paid dividends but Ignace couldn't judge the pace of the cross and missed by inches. India should not panic now and try and build moves intelligently. They need to hold the ball in their own defence and not just try and clear, giving the Chinese the opportunity to build attacks.

Chances are flying both ways. China finally get the space as India try and defend the 1-0 score. China had a penalty corner but the flick was well saved by the defence.

India earn their sixth penalty corner. It's the first of the 2nd half. Raghunath swipes the stick over the ball as Dilip standing by the side hits a hard shot that goes into goal off the Chinese defenders stick. GOAL!!!!!!GOAL!!!!!\ India have the lead and they need to continue their search for more to take the match away from the Chinese. The stadium clock is still not working but the time is approx around 45 minutes into the match.

Shivender Singh comes in and the Indian attack gets the sharpness it was looking for. But the misses continue. India have now entered the Chinese striking circle 15 times!!!But are yet to find that goal that would ease the pressure and make them play with renewed vigour.

China attacking all the way and almost score when a lovely move with a brilliant back-tap couldn't find the overlapping Chinese forward.

It's HALF-TIME and the scores are 0-0. India should have been up at least 3-4 goals by now. India has been let down in the penalty corner department and also by their forwards who have missed too many chances.

Ignace Tirkey is in the attack and India needs to find an opening goal fast. It's quite clear that the Chinese tactics are to wait for a counter-attack and then create a penalty corner and score. India needs to avoid the Chinese counter-attack but it needs goals to take the lead and create more pressure.

India earn their fifth penalty corner and a fantastic variation sees Sardars going for goal. Shot deflects off a Chinese defender and Tushar picks up the free ball and shoots but hits a defenders leg. Michiel Brunning points for a stroke but the Chinese protest saying it came off a stick. Brunning consults the Ghanian umpire Richmond Attipoe and then tells both the teams to bully off outside the Chinese striking circle.

China miss a golden chance to take the lead. Off a counter-attack, China enters with the ball deflecting of Dilip's stick as an overlapping Chinese forward fails to shoot despite Baljit being off-balance. India escape!!!

Gurbaz almost scores; his shot goes off a defenders stick on the line. India keep attacking.

India needs to inter-change their forwards fast. It's quite humid and in the earlier Pakistan game it was also raining. Though the weather has cooled down, the Indians would need to keep energy reserves if they walk off the pitch at the break goalless. With the clock not working inside the stadium, finding the exact time is a problem. But at the moment, it seems that 17 minutes have already gone by with India dominating the exchanges.

India had two consecutive penalty corners. But both failed with Raghunath not flicking it right. China slowly but steadily are gaining confidence. Their midfield is moving up and now they are moving in from the flanks. India are attacking but have to be careful of the Chinese counter-attacks.

India have a penalty corner. Raghunath's flick was fast and furious but it went off a Chinese defenders stick for a long corner. India needs to open the account and pile on the pressure. The faster they get the goals, the better it would be for India.

China is yet to enter the Indian half. But the Chinese with man-to-man marking are keeping the Indian forwards away. Tushar and Rajpal have to be sharper with their crosses while Prabhjot needs to enter the striking circle at the right time to recieve them.

It's domination from the first second. The Indian midfield of Bimal Lakra, Prabodh Tirkey and Gurbaj are weaving their magic, making some excellent moves for the forwards.

Coach Joaquim Carvalho has kept out Jaswinder Singh and goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza from the playing 16. Baljit will be the goalkeeper. It's quite a crowd here and everybody would want an India win in it's opening match of the 2007 Asia Cup.