Olympic bronze medallist India eked out a hard-fought 3-2 win over South Africa to qualify for the men's hockey final of the Commonwealth Games here on Saturday.

Abhishek (20th minute), Mandeep Singh (28th) and Jugraj Singh (58th) scored for India, while South Africa's goals came from the sticks of Ryan Julius (33rd) and Mustapha Cassiem (59th).

Going by form and rankings, it was expected to be a cakewalk for India but it didn't turn out that way, courtesy South Africa custodian Gowan Jones, who dished out a superlative performance under the bar.

Had it not been for Jones' brilliant display, the score-line could have been much bigger in favour of the Indians.

The Indians were on the offensive from the word go and dominated possession for majority of the first two quarters.

India had plenty of circle penetrations and chances in the first quarter but goals eluded them with Jones standing like a rock in front of the goal.

He denied India's star drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh from converting as many as four penalty corners in the first half to keep his side in the game.

Jones' anticipation and reflexes were a treat to watch as he pulled off save after save.

Not only penalty corners, Jones was also solid in front of the goal from open play as he kept out Shamsher Singh's try from close range in the 10th minute after he was set by Akashdeep Singh.

Seconds later Jones pulled off another stunning reflex save to deny Akashdeep.

South Africa looked to have got some rhythm in the second quarter and secured three penalty corners in quick succession but India's reserve goalie Krishan Bahadur Pathak was upto the task.

The deadlock finally broke in the 20th minute when Abhishek scored with a smashing reverse hit from top of the circle to finally beat Jones.

Minutes later, Jones once again came to his side's rescue, blocking Amit Rohidas' fierce shot and then stopping Akashdeep's reverse shot.

But Indian team doubled its lead in the 28th minute through Mandeep, who scored a fine goal after being fed by Gurjant Singh.

India secured another penalty corner two minutes after the change of ends but wasted it.

South Africa looked more determined after the change of ends and reduced the margin three minutes after restart through Julius who scored of a rebound from a penalty corner.

Jones was in top form as he pulled off another fine save off Abhishek in the 38th minute.

South Africa were not to be bogged down as they penetrated the Indian circle now and then and secured some penalty corners but failed to breach the defence.

In the 41st minute, Jones made another brilliant save to keep out Jarmanpreet Singh's effort from India's sixth set piece.

In the final quarter, India tried to play the possession game and focussed on defending as South Africa pressed hard.

India's ploy worked perfectly as they managed to held on to South Africa's forward press.

With four minutes to go, South withdrew Jones and India utilised the chance to extend their lead with Jugraj slamming home from a penalty corner.

The Africans threatened India when Cassiem scored with a reverse hit to make it 3-2.

The Indians, however, managed to hold on to their lead to seal a final berth after 2014 edition, where they came second best to Australia.

India will play the winner of the second semi-final between Australia and England in the final on Sunday.

Sen sails into semifinals; Sindhu, Srikanth also make it after bit of struggle

Young Lakshya Sen recorded another comfortable win but double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth had to work hard to enter the badminton semifinals of the Commonwealth Games here on Saturday.

The men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who had claimed a silver in 2018, also moved into the semifinals as did the young women's combination of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly.

World number 10 Sen beat Mauritius' Julien Georges Paul 21-12 21-11 after Sindhu and Srikanth struggled past Malaysia's Goh Wei Jin and England's Toby Penty in women's and men's singles quarterfinals to stay on course for an individual CWG medal.

A former world champion, Sindhu, who had won a bronze and silver in the last two editions, registered a come-from-behind 19-21 21-14 21-18 win over Goh, ranked 60th, to enter her third successive semifinals at the CWG.

World championships silver medallist Srikanth, too, was far from convincing during his 21-19 21-17 win over the left-handed Penty, ranked 54th in the world.

Satwik and Chirag, ranked 7th in the world, prevailed 21-19 21-11 over Australia's Jacob Schueler and Nathan Tang, while Gayatri and Treesa beat Jamaica's Katherine Jam and Tahila Richarson 21-8 21-6 in another lop-sided contest.

The 20-year-old Sen will next face Jia Heng Teh, while Srikanth will look to extract revenge on Malaysia's Ng Tze Yong, who had defeated him in the mixed team final.

Sindhu, on the other hand, will have to get past Singapore's world number 18 Jia Min Yeo to inch closer to a maiden gold. The Indian had beaten her at the 2019 French Open.

In women's singles, young Aakarshi Kashyap's CWG debut ended with a 10-21 7-21 defeat to Scotland's Kristy Gilmour, a silver and bronze medallist in 2014 and 2018 editions respectively.

Sindhu looked slightly shaky against Goh, whom she had defeated in two tight games in the mixed team championship final.

Goh's attacking prowess was once again on display as she made the Indian work hard in the opening game.

The 27-year-old from Hyderabad had a two-point cushion in the mid-game interval but Goh managed to turn the tables with her better display in the second half of the first game to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

A vastly experienced Sindhu, however, got back her bearing soon as the duo engaged in some superb rallies with the Indian managing to grab a three-point advantage at the break.

Sindhu, ranked world number 7, extended her lead to 19-14 and soon roared back in the contest.

The decider saw some enthralling rallies with the duo moving neck-and-neck till 6-6. Sindhu managed to eke out a 8-6 lead but Goh soon reeled off three points to turn the tables.

The Indian disposed off a short return from Goh to earn a slender one-point lead at the interval.

While Goh played some exceptional shots, including a body smash, Sindhu focussed on making her opponent move across the court and used her repertoire of strokes to achieve that.

Sindhu tried to get into good positions to open up multiple options for her strokeplay. Soon she was leading 15-11 with Goh looking frustrated, flat on the floor.

The Indian kept a firm grip on the rallies as Goh looked tired with her returns.

In the end, Sindhu grabbed three match points and converted in her second attempt, much to the joy of the Indian fans at the NEC Hall here.

Egged on by the home crowd and coached by former CWG medallist Rajiv Ouseph, Penty matched Srikanth in all departments and held a four-point lead at the interval in the second game after narrowly missing the opener.

Srikanth was error-prone, especially in the first half of the match but then rode on his explosive power in his smashes to make it 17-13 in the second. He peppered his rival with a series of attacking shots, including a body smash.

A couple of attacking returns on Srikanth's forehand helped Penty stay alive before the Indian gained three match points and unleashed another follow-up return on his rival's body to seal the contest.