Pakistan were held to a 2-2 draw by Malaysia which means an end to their hopes of reaching final of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup on Thursday.

In the first match of the day, Korea lost a golden opportunity to stay alive in the event after conceding an equaliser just 10 seconds before the final whistle while defending champion New Zealand remained in contention after defeating India 2-0. Now three teams are in the running for the two final slots Australia, Malaysia and New Zealand.

There was not even standing space left when the match started, as more than 12,000 fans came to support the Malaysian team who only needed to beat Pakistan to play in only their fourth final. Faisal Saari received a green card for a silly mistake in the second minute, but he made up for the folly in the sixth minute. Malaysia played like they badly wanted to win the match, and earned their first penalty corner in the fifth minute. Faisal's powerful low drive hit first runner M Waqas's leg and the deflection caught postman M Imran as the ball trickled through his legs and Malaysia had the lead they were looking for.

That boosted the confidence of the Malaysians and a concerted push upfront saw Malaysia win their second penalty corner in the ninth minute, but the first runner doused the attempt.Faisal was all over the pitch, and for his untiring effort, he made another mistake in the 11th minute and was yellow carded. Pakistan then won a string of penalty corners and in the 15th minute, Imran finally perfected it for the equalsier. There was no letting up on the remaining minutes of the half, as Malaysia kept attacking, but the side netting, as well as an off form Tengku Ahmad Tajuddin, failed to produce a lead into the breather.

Malaysia were awarded their sixth penalty corner in the 40th minute. But the Pakistani custodian Imran Butt cast aside his indifferent form early in the tournament to deny Malaysia yet again. Malaysia won their 8th penalty corner in the 53rd minute and this time Mohd Razie Rahim made no mistake, despite a heroic effort by Imran, for Malaysia to lead 2-1. Malaysia then won three penalty corners but failed to extend their lead. Pakistan got their equaliser through Shafqat Rasool in 63rd by forcing a late onslaught and forced their fifth penalty corner in the 67th minute but Kumar was once again the stumbling block. And the tired Malaysians sighed in relief when the final whistle went.

New Zealand set-up a crucial match against Australia on Saturday when they defeated India 2-0. Thus with six points they will battle Australia in a winner take all match that could well decide the finalist. Both the teams trooped onto the pitch with three points each and needed to win to stay in contention for a place in Sunday's final.

While the Black Sticks showed hunger, India were a subdued side as they lack the punch and hardly created moves that could trouble the Kiwi defence. It was a boring first half as both the teams failed to create any goal worthy chances with play largely centered in the middle of the pitch. But in the 40th minute, New Zealand opened scoring through Andy Hayward's penalty corner. India won their first penalty corner in the 53rd minute but Rupinder Pal Singh failed to make it count.

However the Black Sticks made full use of their penalty corner in the 57th minute. The initial attempt by Andy Hayward was padded away byPR Sreejesh in the Indian goal. But Cory Bennett picked up the rebound, evaded an Indian defender and sent a reverse stick hit crashing into the goal for a 2-0 lead. Try as they did, India could not find their way past a resilient Kiwi defence.

Korea held Australia to a 3-3 draw but really it was three points lost then one gained as Korea led till two seconds from the end. The draw thus puts Korea out of the running for a place in the final. "We were not in the match at all in the first half and really should have done better. The draw has made things more difficult especially since we are playing New Zealand on Saturday," said Australian coach Ric Charlesworth.

"The umpiring was not up to mark and we were denied a few penalty corners and even a stroke. And the Korean style of playing is this match is not good for hockey as a whole as all they did was throw the ball with overhead and have lots of defenders. But we did not play up to expectations and now have made things difficult for ourselves. The heat was terrible today."

Results

New Zealand 2
India 0
Malaysia 2
Pakistan 2
Australia 3
South Korea 3