Pakistan on Saturday took the third straight victory to lead 3-0 in the four-match series with China, the first international hockey competition held in Pakistan since 2004.

Pakistan won the third match of the series on Saturday afternoon in Faisalabad city by the margin of 3-1. The hosts had already won the first two matches in 3-0 and 5-3 respectively in the southern port city of Karachi.

The fourth and final match will be played in Lahore on Sunday.

In the match Pakistani striker Ali Shan opened the scoring in the second minute. Veteran Shakeel Abbasi doubled the hosts' lead in the 21st minute.

Pakistan led 2-0 at the interval, and China closed the gap to 2-1 thanks to the penalty scored in by skipper Liu Yixian in the 61st minute.

Three minutes later Pakistan's Waqas Sharif extended the hosts advantage again to seal the victory.

The 28-member Chinese hockey team is the first international team to tour Pakistan during the last seven years.

International sports events had been stopped in Pakistan due to the refusal of international teams after the terrorist attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in March 2009 in Lahore city.

Though many individual international players toured Pakistan during the last few years, China is the first international hockey team visiting Pakistan after 2004 Junior Asia Cup held in Pakistan.

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