Bangladesh crashed 6-0 to defending champions and hosts India in their Pool B match of the 7th Asia Cup hockey tournament yesterday in Chennai but the defeat could have been worse had not goalkeeper Zahid Hossain made a series of spectacular saves.

Bangladesh were ultra defensive from the word go at the Radhakrishnan Memorial Stadium and managed to handcuff the mighty Indians to a slim 1-0 lead at the break but the visitors lost their composure in the second half under mounting pressure.

India, who edged South Korea 32 on the previous day ensured a semifinal berth with their fourth straight win and look like finishing

atop the group with a match against lowly Thailand in hand.

Bangladesh, who have won two and lost as many games, will play two-time champions South Korea tomorrow.

Although India proved superior in all compartments of the game, the home side were frustrated for their poor conversion rate in penalty corners having scored one from seven attempts.

Zahid, adjudged man-of-the-match for his heroics under the bar, made his first save after five minutes when he foiled out Raghunath's flick from a PC before padding out Shivender's push on one-on-one.

Bangladesh got the better of the rival midfield in the ninth minute but failed to make most of their first entry inside the striking circle in the ninth minute. Zahid again came alive when the diving keeper took Dilip's powerful hit on the glove during a penalty corner but survived a close call soon as the stubborn backline failed to stop a darting left-flank run by Roshan Minz, whose pass was fluffed by an unmarked Tushar.

Tushar and Minz both wasted chances before Zahid pulled off a twin save, denying efforts by Sardana and Rajpan as India failed to hit the target from their third penalty corner.

India finally went ahead just before the half-hour mark when Raghunath swiped in a right-side cross to beat Zahid.

The spirit of the Bangladesh defence evaporated as the floodgate opened two minutes after the break with Tushar darting into the box before slamming home. A minute later, Shivender picked up a pass from Prabhjot to make it 3-0.

Bangladesh were reduced to ten men temporarily when Russell Mahmud Jimmy was shown a yellow card for arguing with the umpire who had awarded a penalty corner. The controversial decision almost put India further ahead but for Zahid deflecting Dilip's direct hit with his helmet.

Prabhjot then pushed in a Shivender pass from an inch out of goal and followed it up with his second with a reverse hit before Raghunath, who saw his previous effort parried by Zahid, sealing the victory from India's last penalty corner.

Bangladesh, who beat Thailand 13-0 and Sri Lanka 3-2, also lost 6-0 to China.