Excitement reaches a fever pitch in South Asia during any sports clash between the neighbours who almost came to war last year over Kashmir and people on both sides will be focussed on their televisions when the round-robin league match starts on Friday evening.

Hockey, in which India dominated the world in the early half of the century, does not arouse the same passions as cricket but it is a close second.

India have lost three of their four matches so far in the six-nation tournament. But fans, who have often reacted angrily to India's poor performances, are known to be all-forgiving when their team beats Pakistan.

"The performance so far has been pathetic, it's been painful to watch the games," said hockey follower Rahul Singh, a New Delhi medical student.

"But, for us, the final is the match against Pakistan. If we beat them, nothing else will matter."

Irate fans in India berated their cricketers after their poor start to the cricket World Cup in February. They burnt effigies and even attacked a player's home, but it all stopped after a six-wicket victory over Pakistan.

The odds, however, are heavily stacked against India.

They started the tournament promisingly, leading title favourites Holland 3-0 before giving up four goals in the last seven minutes.

They struggled to beat a second-string Germany 3-2 and were then thumped 4-1 by Australia and 4-2 by Argentina. India are lying fifth in the points table, only ahead of Germany.

Pakistan are in unbeaten in fourth place with two draws and a win from three matches. But with games against Germany and India coming up, they are looking to make the second half of the tournament count.

Indian coach Rajinder Singh said in his newspaper column on Thursday his team's flat showing had stunned him.

"Forget teamwork, even individually, the players have disappointed," he wrote. "We need to get charged up."