Glasgow: India dished out a dominating performance to notch up a 6-2 victory over hosts Scotland in a Pool A match in the men's hockey competition of the Commonwealth Games on Saturday.
Ranked ninth in the world, India went on a goal-spree as they rode on the scores from Gurbaj Singh (6th minute), Raghunath Ramachandra (22nd, 44th), Rupinder Singh (36th, 49th) and Gurwinder Chandi (40th) at the National Hockey Centre here.
Kenny Bain (56th) and Nicholas Parkes (68th) were the goalscorer for Scotland.
India started the match as overwhelming favourites against the 25th-ranked Scotland, and the Sardar Singh-led side were completely in control of the match all through the the 70 minutes as they made frequent inroads in their rival circle and scored at ease.
The Scots, on the other hand, hardly had any answer to India's style of play. They tried to create opportunities but they were always met with the stubborn defence of India.
India started on a dominating note with Gurbaj drawing the first blood when he dodged a few defenders on the right flank and sounded the board with a powerful direct flick to give India an early 1-0 lead.
The visitors earned their first penalty corner in the eighth minute but they failed to convert. However, Raghunath didn't repeat the mistake as he converted the second set piece with an angled shot which found the right of the net.
India earned two more penalty corners in the remaining time of the first half but failed to convert as they went into the break with a 2-0 lead. The hosts also got a few chances but failed to utilise it.
After the breather, India came out all cylinders blazing as Rupinder sounded the board just one minute into the match after the visitors earned another penalty corner.
Four minutes later, Chandi scored a field goal when he deflected a shot from the right flank to put India 4-0 ahead.
The Indians continued their rampaging run as their midfield and forward line combined well to create more chances and Raghunath grabbed one such opportunity when he converted a set piece with a low flick to make it 5-0.
Forward Rupinder too was not left behind as he brought India's sixth goal, finding the right corner of the post.
Scotland's Kenny Bain finally brought some cheers to the local fans when he found the back of the post with a reverse hit from just inside the circle.
Scotland failed to convert five penalty corners and Nicholas Parkes finally scored from their sixth set piece, just a couple of minutes from the hooter, after trying a variation but by then it was too late.
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