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Malkeet Singh rose under pressure to defeat Pakistan 2 and carry India into the final of the Asian Team Snooker Championship in Doha on Friday.
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India were in a spot of bother after Pankaj Advani had gone down to Muhammad Majid Ali of Pakistan in the tie opener. But Malkeet held fort not once but twice, first beating Mohammad Bilal in the second singles frame before clinching another victory in the final contest of the day.
His win over Bilal drew the contest for India going into the doubles. But Pakistan won the four-man battle in a closely-fought match.
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The remaining two singles were a must-win for India and the only way they could seal a finals berth. Pankaj played the first against Bilal and salvaged his opening defeat with a fine 58 break to take the contest into the decider with both teams levelled at 2-2.
It was left to Malkeet and he once again delivered grabbing the match from the jaws of defeat. Ali. Who had beaten Advani in the opening singles, this time led 43-1 against Malkeet after the opening 10 minutes. But with defeat seemingly inevitable, a rare opening gave the Indian a new lease of hope. Then with the help of a couple of 20-plus breaks, Malkeet finally took the lead 51-43.
The game was, however, still open and when Ali took advantage of a regulation yellow pot, which Malkeet has missed, the game looked dead. But he missed the blue giving the Indian another opportunity.
Malkeet faced little trouble in pocketing the blue and then he planted a match-winning snooker on the pink to secure the frame and with it the match as the lead went out Ali’s reach.
India takes on Pakistan 1 in the final.
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