India take on hosts Malaysia in their final round-robin group stage match of 2017 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup at the Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh on Friday.
The second-placed team, who are tied with Great Britain and New Zealand at seven points each from four games, need nothing less than a win tomorrow to seal a spot in the summit clash of the tournament. While all three of them have a chance to make the final, India, with better goal-difference will fancy their chances.
Notably, the Men in Blue will also know what is required of them tomorrow as they play their match after the clash between Great Britain and New Zealand.
India are heading into the game on the back of a hard-fought 4-3 win over tournament minnows, Japan, who have fielded a young team in Ipoh. The world number two-ranked side were trailing 3-2 at the end of the third quarter, after which Mandeep Singh added two more to complete his hat-trick and make sure India collected three full points.
After yesterday's tight encounter, India coach Roelant Oltmans reportedly says his team will be better prepared to take on Malaysia, who will be hoping to open their account tomorrow. Having lost three of their four encounters, last year's bronze medalists are reeling at the bottom of the table and are out of contention of third-place match.
Malaysia failed to convert quite a few penalty corners yesterday during their 1-0 loss against Japan. Having scored only two goals over their four games, the hosts have been struggling to find the back of the net consistently and they are in for another uphill task against India, who are favourites to set up a title clash with Australia on Saturday.
TV Schedule
India: Star Sports 2
Australia: Fox Sports
Malaysia: Astro Arena, Fox Sports
New Zealand: Sky Sport
Singapore: Fox Sports
Team News
Malaysia
Squad: Samsul, Jalil, Fitri, Faizal, Syed, Mutalib, Ashari, Noor, Subramiam, Rahim, Jali, Hassan, Hasan, Othman, Nik, Jazlan, Saabah
India
Squad: Manpreet (c), Harmanpreet, Akash, Rupinder, Gurinder, Surender, Sardar, Mandeep, Sreejesh, Sumit, Manpreet (Jr), Talwinder, Harjeet, Pradeep, Sunil, Akashdeep, Chinglensana, Yousuf
